Stuck in Volterra
by Onwind
Summary: Victoria created over a hundred newborn vampires to help her kill me. The good news: The Cullens have a plan to trick her and will hide me somewhere safe. The bad news: The safe place is Volterra and I got Caius for a babysitter. Kill me.
1. Chapter 1

This is a Bella/ Caius fanfic. Nothing more to say. Enjoy ^^

* * *

**Chapter 1**

Another clap of violent thunder and showers of dark mist shook the whole house. The storm was obviously getting stronger by the second. Stupid storms. I hated storms. Slowly, I wrapped an arm around Edward Cullen, my gorgeous vampire boyfriend and rested my head against his shoulder. He placed one hand on my shoulder for support, but it didn't exactly help my desperation of finding warmth. He realized this suddenly, and removed his hand at once.

Alice was the center of attention in the Cullen house. Her golden eyes were deathly still and unreadable, her perfect lips in a straight line. It almost looked like she was hypnotized, but I knew she was having another vision. Jasper hand a nervous hand through his honey blonde hair, and held her hand for support. Nobody wanted to disturb her in any way, since this vision might be about _Victoria_. I shuddered, and this time it wasn't because it was cold.

"Can I get a blanket?" I whispered as softly as I could to Edward.

"Shhhh," He murmured carefully. Edward had been really focused, too. He must be reading Alice's thoughts. If he didn't even care about the thought of me freezing to death, he, like Alice, wanted no disturbances.

Suddenly, Alice jerked back into reality, her expression shocked and confused like someone just bitch-slapped her.

"Well…?" Carlisle asked cautiously form the kitchen.

Alice didn't answer right away. She put both hands on either side of her head, her eyes wide with fright. "Oh my…"  
"What did you see??" Jasper demanded, holding both of her hands tightly.

"Vampires," She uttered, staring straight ahead. "Over…Over a hundred… newborns…"

I immediately looked up at Edward who didn't return my worried gaze. He was still dead frozen. Over a hundred newborn vampires? That was automatically _not _a good sign. Who was the monster that had changed all those humans…? I didn't need to answer that question once everything clicked together in my mind.

"Victoria created a whole army just so she could finish me off???" I was flabbergasted. Everyone glanced at me with concern, while Alice seemed to be calming down.

"She knew we were going to be well armed," Alice realized.

"Seems she hasn't completely underestimated us," Esme added boldly.

"We can still take her," Emmett's fist balled up and he punched it a couple times into his other hand.

"Still, the number of vampires she has collected is a threat," Carlisle reasoned.

I glanced up at Edward who was still just watching his family argue. Even with the help of the werewolves, we still would probably not be completely safe. There would be too many distractions. I would die at Victoria's hand. Or worse. Someone else on our team would die…

When I picked back up on the argument, I only caught:

"Bella shouldn't stay in Forks."

"I agree," Edward suddenly stood up, looking at me gently. "This is too big a risk if Victoria is bringing over a hundred newborn vampires ordered to kill Bella. We should take her somewhere else, somewhere safe. I'll go with her."

"Edward, she'll know you'll be with her," Alice explained innocently. "That was another thing in the vision. About one hundred and eighteen vampires _all _want to kill her. We can no longer use force and war. We have to hide her somewhere safe."

Edward's lip curled in rage. "I am going with her. You separated me from her when James tracked her, and look what had happened. She was in the hospital for weeks. I repeat, I will be going with Bella."

"Listen to her!!" Jasper suddenly snarled back, motioning to Alice. "She knows what she's talking about. You can't be with her this time either, Edward. It's for Bella's own safety."

Edward quickly looked down at me, his eyes full of worry and sadness. The thought of me being around when a bunch of vampires were going to slit my throat the second they saw me really wasn't the way I wanted to go. I nodded once; encouraging him that Alice and Jasper were both right. He sighed.

"This 'safe place' better be damn safe," Edward growled in defeat.

"Wait," I interrupted. "Um…what about everyone else in Forks? Won't the vampires…like…maybe…for a snack…?"  
"We should be able to take care of that," Carlisle answered with much assertion. "With the help of your scent, we might be able to lead them away from the cities completely so they can't kill. Then we could face them and probably fight them. It would be much easier to kill them off if we didn't have to protect you."

"Alright," I nodded a couple times. "I'm all for this plan. But…where do I go that's safe?"

There was a long silence, and all the vampires looked at each other doubtfully. Great, so they were as clueless as I was. My scent would probably be all over my mom's place, so that was an automatic NO. Ugh, what other places did I have…?

"You can always just take her to the Volturi," Rosalie suggested casually.

Everyone turned to the beautiful, golden haired vampire that had been sitting in the corner of the room with nothing to say all day. Edward snarled menacingly, and even stood up at her remark. I could see why he was so vicious.

It wasn't that long ago I had travelled to Volterra to save Edward from revealing himself. That, _and_ I met the Volturi, the group of "royal" vampires who weren't considered our 'best friends forever.' I guess they didn't completely plan to kill us on the spot, but anyone would tell that they secretly despised me in particular.

I knew Rosalie always hated me in some way, but suggesting _them _to protect me was a really _sick _joke. Everyone knew if they just left me at the Volturi, I would be baked at 350. I would be their _dinner_.

Edward's voice was dangerously low. "You dare suggest that I leave Bella with those-"  
"It's not that bad of an idea," Rosalie reasoned. "Volterra is a very far and hidden sort of place. That and they're all really skilled vampires who could protect her."  
"I agree, Rosalie, but what makes you think they'd protect her?" Carlisle asked. A couple vampires nodded in agreement.

"Well, didn't _you _work with them at a time?" Rosalie raised a perfect eyebrow at her father. "You said they wouldn't break a promise, right? Maybe we could make them promise to protect her and not eat her."

"Right, but what's in it for them?" Emmett added.

Rosalie threw her hands in the air. "Hey, at least I'm _coming up _with ideas unlike any of you!!"  
"Calm down Rosalie. You too, Edward," Carlisle glanced at him still snarling. He refaced Rosalie. "Maybe your idea wasn't all that disturbing."

My eyes flashed up to Edward's. Would Carlisle really take Rosalie's side for something like this? He knelt next to me. "I need to talk some sense into them. Don't worry. But…maybe you should go home. It wouldn't be best for a human to stay with a group of arguing vampires."

"Sure," I agreed, standing up. "I'll leave my window unlocked."

He half smiled. "Good."

The whole rest of the day, I buried my face in my pillow listening to more thunder and wild rain. Other than that, I kept wondering where the vampires were going to send me until Victoria was destroyed. Hopefully Volterra was out of the question. I mean, the place was beautiful and all that, but the vampires just freaked the hell out of me. Jane, with that lethal grin. Aro, with that delightful attitude. Marcus, with that bored expression. Caius, with that death glare. All of the Volturi, with those scary, blood red eyes. I found myself needing more blankets.

Suddenly, I heard the squeaking sound of the window, and a tall, dark figure wobbled in. He closed the window behind him, and shook off the water in his hair like a dog. I sat up.

"Well?" I asked him.

Edward sighed, and looked at me seriously. "Pack your bags. We're leaving for Volterra in the morning."

* * *

**The first chapter sucks, I know. Please review though!!! ^^**


	2. Chapter 2

**Haha, I forgot to say what book in the Twilight series this takes place!! ***** clonks own head * This fanfic takes place somewhere in Eclipse. Anyway, here's chapter 2…**

**Chapter 2**

I tossed out all the junk in my school backpack and stuffed only like three outfits, a brush, and an extra bottle of pepper spray. It most likely wouldn't work on vampires because all it did in the James situation was piss him off. That's why I found a small kitchen dagger in the…well, the kitchen…and tucked it in the back pocket of the backpack. Slowly, I zipped up the top pocket, and turned around to face Edward.

"Are you _sure _this is the smart thing to do? Leave me with the Volturi for a couple weeks? You trust them with me??"

"Bella, I know you're worried," He looked at me in an understanding way. "If I were in your position, I'd be just as furious. But after a long discussion with my family…I realized that Volterra is the safest place for you."

"_How _is that place, safe?" I demanded. "Don't you remember?? They _eat _humans!!"

"Yes, they do," Edward agreed solemnly. "Which is why we're going to have to talk to them about it."

"You really think _talking _is going to help?"

"Please, just finish packing."

"I'm packed already."

"May I borrow some clothing for the scent plan?"

"Go ahead. The rest is all yours."

Edward nodded once, and then disappeared in the closet. I studied him carefully, wondering what the hell was wrong with him. I did trust him. But this decision was just too damn risky. I grabbed a light jacket that I had packed, and pulled up the zipper. Edward finally came out, his hands loaded with _every _type of clothing that had been in my closet. I gaped at him.

"I'll need more," He half smiled at me.

I scoffed. "Yea um, you mind as well take the entire house while you're at it."

"Sorry, but if we're going to trick over one hundred and something newborns-"

"Yea, yea, just take whatever you need. By the way, what am I going to say to Charlie?"

Edward turned thoughtful. "Hmm…say something like I invited you to go with me to Hawaii and the plane leaves in the morning. Write it in letter form so he can't reject you leaving."

"He's going to freak out, you know. He hates it when I just take off like this."

"He'll freak out even more if you stay here and he finds your body in the forest drained of blood with several signs of a struggle."

I scowled at him. "Gee, that is so calming to the nerves. Thanks a lot."

He chuckled, and stuffed all of the clothing in a large plastic bag. He slung my backpack over his shoulder, and motioned me to climb on his back. "Put on your hood, it might be a wet ride."

I frowned. "You're going to run all the way to…?"

"We'll go to my house, and we'll take a plane. Alice will come with us. She sent a letter asking Aro permission to allow you to stay there. They should get it before dawn."

"That's some fast mail work there."

Edward grinned. "I know."

I clung to his back, and stretched the hood of my jacket all the way to my eyes. Then, Edward sped into the rainy night, not even giving me a chance to glance back at the house.

* * *

The plane ride to Volterra was super silent. Edward and Alice sat on either side of me for the whole three hours, staring straight ahead. I couldn't tell if Alice was having another vision, so I decided not to interrupt her concentration. When she finally snapped out of it, she didn't bother sharing what she had just seen. Edward frowned deeply.

Once the plane landed, my heart sped. Many questions came rushing to my head, and I decided to blurt them all out while we exited the airport.

"You guys will watch over Charlie too, right? You'll write the letter before he wakes up?"

"Yes." Edward promised, that same scowl still on his face. Whatever Alice's little vision was, it seemed to bother him more than necessary.

"How long will I have to be jailed in Volterra?" I added solemnly.

"However long it takes for us to get rid of the newborns," Edward answered. "Hopefully, it should be less than two weeks."

_Two weeks!!? _Kill me now.

"Aro received the letter," Alice suddenly spoke up.

"What does he think about letting Bella stay there?" Edward demanded.

Alice glanced at him with sparkling gold eyes. "We'll have to find out."

* * *

The giant wood colored doors stood before us. I gulped, and clutched Edward's frigid arm to keep from passing out. I wanted to tell Edward he was wrong about this decision. I wanted to just turn around and go home. I wanted to not care about all the newborns destined to kill me. But I couldn't find the voice to do it. Edward could sense me shaking.

"I promise it won't be long," He stroked my long brunette hair.

"Well, if I get eaten…" I managed to choke out. "Do know it was all your fault."

"They won't eat you," Edward promised softly, but I could still see the doubt in both his and Alice's eyes.

Then, the doors of the Volturi palace swung open.

Everything that I had remembered from last time was there. The room was vast and thoroughly decorated, curving up to a large dome shape. Other than the room itself, it was littered with many familiar vampires. Aro, Caius, and Marcus were sitting on their thrones, dressed in expensive robes, their blood eyes twinkling. I tensed at the sight of them, but I forced myself forward with Edward.

"Ah!! The lovely Cullens return!!" Aro stood up with that delightful expression. "I am so pleased you have found the time to join us yet again!!"

"Yes," Edward said flatly.

"Have you received our request?" Alice added, stepping from behind us.

"Of course, dear Alice," Aro casually took out a small paper from his robes, and showed it to us. His bloodlust eyes fixed amusingly at me. "We would be absolutely _thrilled _to keep young Bella here for a short time."

Edward nudged me to say something. I quickly said, "Thank you, Aro."

Aro flicked a strand of radiant black hair off his shoulder and raised his palms. "Do not thank me, lovely Bella. My brothers and I would always help you in your time of need."

None of the other vampires agreed. Marcus hadn't even looked up at the sound of our entrance. He seemed to be examining his flawless pale nails with a dull expression. Jane was sitting quietly in the corner, a slight scowl on her baby face. Alec didn't really seem all that pleased we had come either. Then there was Caius, who was giving me that icy death glare like last time. Aro finally broke the silence.

"Felix, do be a dear and escort young Bella Swan to an available room. I do hope she will stay with us for a _long _time."

Edward growled loudly. Something in Aro's mind really pissed him off. Aro immediately looked back at him. "Is there a problem, dear Edward?"

"Do expect me to keep in touch, Aro," Edward said through his clenched teeth. "You know how difficult it is for me to trust any of you. But I'm going with this plan, which includes you to _protect _her. If Bella is returned to me, or not even returned to me at all, in any harm, the slightest _scratch_, I _will _talk to Carlisle about it. Then I think you know what happens after that."

Aro silently held out a hand to read Edward's violent thoughts. Edward accepted his gesture, and waited until Aro backed up a step. "My, my, such impressive threats, dear Edward. So much horrible, horrible violence. But we need not of your warning. For Bella will be treated as a proper guest, I assure you."

Edward nodded once. "I will send letters to question about Bella's well being. I want her to write back. Only her. Is that understood?"

"We would never want it in any other way," Aro promised in a cheerful manner.

"Edward," Alice nudged him with her little elbow. "The plane back to Forks will be taking off soon."

"Yes," Edward then turned to me and pulled me into a big embrace. I hugged him back, as hard to the point I would never let go and he'd have to take me back with him. Easily, he pulled away and lightly kissed my forehead. "Stay alive for me." Edward murmured softly. Then both him and Alice disappeared the room in a light breeze.

The Volturi doors closed loudly behind them.

* * *

**Next chapter up soon!! Review ^^ **


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

**

* * *

  
**

Great. Now I was alone. I weakly glanced back at the Volturi who watched me like I was supposed to entertain them with a tap dance or something. Slowly, I slung my backpack over my shoulder, and Aro freaked out.

"Oh, dear Bella, you should not have to carry your own bags! How unladylike," he rejected lightly, and gracefully turned to a few of his guards. "Demetri?"

The familiar toasty haired vampire with devilish eyes stepped forward with a slight grin. He halted in front of me, and softly held out his hand to take my backpack. I made sure not to touch him as I carefully dropped the backpack in his grasp. He didn't bother using the straps. Maybe he didn't know how…

"Felix?" Aro cocked his head slightly to the thickest vampire in the room. Felix motioned both Demetri and I to follow him down a long hallway on the side of the room I never noticed last time. I balled up my fists to help ease the fear that was gnawing through my skin.

Felix seemed to notice my extreme heart rate. "Your scent is even sweeter than before, Bella. It suits you."

"…Thank you, Felix," I said weakly. How the hell was that comment supposed to make me feel welcome?

Felix gestured towards a room on the right side of the hallway. Once I peeked inside, my eyes widened. It was ten times more beautiful than my own room. Of course I should have expected that. I lived in a crappy rain house and this was a freaking palace. Demetri set down my bag on a nicely decorated desk in the corner of the room.

"Felix, you'll help me move a bed in the room, right? I believe we had forgotten that humans need to rest during night hours," Demetri observed.

"Oh, you don't-you don't have to do that," I shook my head wildly. "Don't go to all that trouble. I can just sleep on the couch or something. No big deal."

Felix had a dark smile. "We insist."

"Um, okay," I said, wanting them to more than ever just leave. Felix and Demetri stayed at my doorway.

"I know you were planning to just lock your door and stay in here until your precious Edward comes back…" Demetri explained, "But Aro requested a meeting with you after you have settled in."

Well, I didn't really consider just putting my bag inside 'settling in', but I nodded. "Um, sure. Can you give me a sec? I'll be out in a minute."

"Of course," Demetri and Felix said politely and closed the door behind them. I leaned against the walls, trying to calm down. Alright Bella, you can do this. Just one more little get together and you can stay in the room the whole time. Don't panic…don't panic….

I forced myself off the wall, and dug out the brush. After a few little knots were untangled, I tossed the brush back into my backpack and drew the dagger. I might need it. Especially if they were planning to ignore Edward's warning. I comfortably tucked the dagger in my back pocket before opening the door and followed Felix and Demetri to the throne room.

Aro and Caius were both standing up, obviously arguing about something. Marcus was still in his seat, completely ignoring the fight. Everyone else was also sitting, waiting for their Lord's argument to settle out. Demetri glanced in a concerned matter at Felix who merely rolled his eyes. I guess that meant Aro and Caius's argument was not their first.

"Brother Caius, do you not desire to once again be allies of the Olympic Coven?" Aro asked in an innocent tone.

"Their friendship matters not to me," Caius muttered bitterly. "It's that mortal girl. How could you go along with this, Aro? She's still human. Have you forgotten that the Volturi do not give second chances? They made a deal to us to give her immortality. And if they do not wish to do their part in the deal, why should we do _this_ in return?"

"Ah, but Caius," Aro held up his palms. "I personally think that young Bella Swan is not quite overdue in her time of mortality. If we want to regain peace with the Olympic Coven, we must immediately agree to do them a favor of protecting this human."

"Such ignorance, Aro," Caius growled.

"Excuse me, master?" Felix finally spoke up. Both Aro and Caius looked at him immediately. "I have brought Bella Swan back, as you wished."

"Ah!! Forgive me, lovely Bella!!" Aro snapped into happiness like an 'on' switch. "I did not notice your presence. How silly of me!!"

"Um, it's okay," I said.

Aro smiled. "Please, do join us. You may sit next to Jane, right over there."

Both Jane and I didn't look that pleased with Aro's command. I nervously walked over to where the scowling Jane was resting, and sat on the very edge. Jane was still glaring at me, her lips hiding her bared teeth. Damn it, Edward…why would you leave me in this place??

Caius seated himself, his icy red glare back on me. Once everyone was yet again seated, Aro walked to the center of the dome shaped room. "I think it is about time to discuss Miss Swan's state of being. If we are to protect her from these horrid newborns, I believe she should be guarded at all times. Does anyone deny this?"

Surprisingly, no one said denied. I would have been touched, except for the fact that practically all the vampires were still glaring at me or gazing at me like they just wanted to rip out my throat. Aro smiled.

"Good. Now, who would like to volunteer to watch Bella Swan at all times, and take the blame if she is at all returned to Edward Cullen in a harmed state?"

Everyone seemed to kind of turn away, or break eye contact from their master. The scene reminding me when our Biology teacher asked a hard question, and no one knew the answer or wanted to answer. Truthfully, I was glad no one volunteered.

"Um, I don't have to be watched," I spoke weakly, drawing all the vampire's attentions. "I'll be fine on my own."

"Oh, but letting you wander these corridors unguarded would be so disrespectful of me, don't you agree young Bella?" Aro asked me with an innocent grin. I nodded, just because I didn't want to anger a vampire that ate humans regularly. Aro clapped his long pale hands together, and turned to Caius and Marcus.

"Brother Marcus? Don't you agree that _Caius _would make a wonderful guard to protect Bella Swan during her stay?" Aro sneered. My jaw dropped. Was he freaking serious?? _Caius_?? The snowy blonde vampire was just as surprised and furious as I was.

"Aro, you cannot be serious!!" Caius said in a dangerously low tone. Aro completely ignored him, his head cocking wonderfully to the bored vampire.

"Don't you agree, Marcus?" Aro repeated.

Marcus still hadn't looked up. Instead, he ran a pale finger along a part of his robes that were stringy and he mumbled. "What? Mmm-hmm. Of course. Mmm-hmm." I doubt he even knew what the question was.

"Then it's settled!!" Aro squealed, his blood eyes fixing back on me. "Bella, whenever you decide to walk around, please let Caius escort you at all times. Do be a dear and always tell me when Caius does not cooperate with this decision. Understood?"

This could not be happening. "I-"

"Aro!!" Caius's expression was scarier and angrier than any Halloween mask I had laid eyes on. "I will _not _agree to protect that _revolting_ human!!"  
'Well _excuuuuuse_ me,' I wanted to blurt out but I kept my lips together. Caius was now on his feet, standing beside Aro's throne. He looked ready to tear the whole building down.

"If this is about that argument we had previously, then I apologize. Your request is denied." Caius's fiery eyes landed evilly on me. I could feel my legs shaking.

"Oh, but you will protect her, brother," Aro said sweetly. "Do not think this as a punishment. Think of it more as a _favor _for us all. A favor for the Volturi. Would you let the whole Volturi down just because a small dislike for the girl? Hmm?"

Then Caius left the throne room, the last glimpse of his robes disappeared from the walls. I breathed in relief, happy he was finally gone. Aro still had that smug expression, and he walked up to me personally, his robes smelling of human flesh and blood. I held in my gag and forced a calm expression.

"Do not be astounded by Caius's behavior, lovely Bella," He said in a friendly manner. "He was a little hot tempered. Please forgive him. He will cool down by tomorrow. Now, get some rest. There is so much to be done tomorrow."

I forced a heavy nod, and Aro asked for Felix and Demetri to escort me back to my room. I knew I wasn't going to sleep well that night. The thought that a vampire would sneak into my room while I was sleeping, and drain my blood completely would really keep me dead awake. Hopefully I wouldn't have to leave the room. Hopefully no vampires would come in.

Hopefully Caius wouldn't have to babysit me that next day.

* * *

**Thanx for all the reviews ^^ Keep em' coming!!! **


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

**

* * *

  
**

It was exactly 6:30 A.M when I heard someone knock my door. My eyes jolted open, my whole body jerking upwards. I couldn't believe it. I had actually fallen asleep. So much for that whole swear to stay awake and make sure no one would sneak in the room. I balled up my fists and rubbed my eyes before weakly standing up and wobbling towards my robe. I was happy to say I had survived the night.

I didn't bother to go hunting for a brush, so I merely stroked a few hairs that were out of control before answering the door. Demetri was standing there, his devil eyes glistening. He smiled formally. "Good morning, Bella. We figured you would wake up about this time."

Way off, dude. I forced a weak smile. "Um, yea. I was just getting up."

"Excellent. Are you ready for the day?"

I glanced down at myself and frowned. "…Not really."

Demetri looked surprised. "Oh. Well then. Please get ready. I have strict orders from Aro to take you to Caius as soon as you were prepared."

Damn it. So much for hibernating in the room until Edward got back. "Sure. Um, I'll be right there. Hold on."

Demetri nodded, and closed the door behind him. After some average human clothing and rolling my hair up to a neat ponytail, I headed out the door and followed Demetri to Caius's room. Hmm…I wondered what all the vampires had for rooms. Maybe there were dead people in it. Dead people and blood and coffins. Or maybe it would be just as nice as Edward's room was. Hard to tell.

We turned down another hallway, one that was much cleaner and formal than all the other halls we had gone down. Three large doorways, all with some evil black design in the center were the only doors in the hallway. I didn't need to be informed that these rooms belonged to the three 'great' vampire leaders. Old photos and pictures covered every inch of wall, all of Aro, Caius, and Marcus. Other pictures were of beautiful red-eyed women who must have been their mates.

Demetri ran a hand through his wild dirty blonde hair as he gestured to the large doorway on the right. He winked at me after I gave him a quick 'thanks' and then he vanished, leaving me to open the doorway to Hell.

I took a deep breath before I turned the handle and stepped inside. I expected to see beautiful rugs and carpets and special designs everywhere I looked. That was a big mistake. As I examined the room once I shut the large doorway behind me, all I saw was a big filter of dust.

The room was large, almost as large as the throne room, but much of the space was blank. The walls had the dull color of faded maroon, spiders and webs in the corners. There was only one wooden desk that was several yards long with many stacks of paper and feather pens. What was this, the fifties? I folded my arms and slowly approached the desk. Speaking of which, where was Mr. Vampire-That-Hates-Humans?

"The proper way to enter a noblemen's quarters the last time I checked is to ask permission."

I whirled around to face the vampire that scared me half to death. Caius icily slammed the door behind him before passing me towards the large wooden desk.

"Um, sorry," I said weakly. "I was told to just come in."

"Indeed. Well, only _I _will shall give you orders to 'just come in' from now on," he remarked harshly, dipping a feather in ink and pulling out a rather long paper to write on. For a few minutes, he seemed completely unaware I was still standing there. Now I was getting bored. I broke the awkward silence by clearing my throat. He didn't notice.

"So…" I said as casually as possible. "What am I supposed to do?"

His dark red eyes flashed up to me. "Excuse me?"

"Well, aren't you going to give me something to do?" I asked in an annoyed kind of way. "Or am I supposed to just stand here all day?"

He huffed loudly, and put his feather pen neatly next to the paper. His long pale hands closed together and he leaned towards me, scowling. "Listen to me, human. I am _not _an entertainer. I am not-"

"No, no, I'm not asking you to entertain me," I interrupted the very angry vampire. "I'm just wondering what I'm supposed to do all day. Like, can I read one of these books you have on the shelves?"

Again the glare. "I have arranged every single book of knowledge in this room in a proper and certain crucial order. Answer me this, human. Why would I ever under the right mind let something as revolting as you disturb this room of pure elegance?"

"Room of pure elegance?" I couldn't help but snicker. "More like 'Room of boring crap.'"

I instantly regretted saying that. Caius was on his feet, and his teeth were bared. I quickly backed up a couple steps. His voice was a pure monster growl. "How _dare _you insult my quarters in my presence!! I will personally inform Aro of your ignorance. We will snap your revolting mortal neck and make sure you will feel the pain. Even your precious Edward Cullen cannot-"

"Okay, okay," I held up my palms. "I'm sorry for making fun of your room. It just slipped out. And you don't need to lecture me about how painfully you want to kill me. I already know you hate me with passion, so I think we're on the same page now. Lets move on. Alright, so can I _please _read one of your books?"

Caius seemed to calm down, so he sat back in his chair. His lips curled over his clenched teeth. "Very well. You may. But I want it returned in the exact location, and in the exact angle. Is that clear?"

"Uh-huh," I headed towards the closest set of dusty books. I pulled out a couple books, and scanned through the pages. Many of them were boring old business books, all with micro printing and in a completely different language. Ugh…forget reading. I saw from the corner of my eye that Caius was still writing as a super impressive speed, but his blood eyes studied me with a frustrated interest. It sort of reminded me of that stare Edward gave me the day I first saw him. But Caius giving me that look was definitely more awkward then Edward. "Yes?"

Caius pursued his lips. "I did not say anything."

I shrugged and went back to examining the books. Suddenly, my eyes crossed upon a familiar group of books and poems I had seen and read during high school years. Shakespeare. Finally something I recognized. Slowly, I pulled out the most familiar book of them all.

"Those books do not belong to I," Caius informed me. "They belong to Aro. He asked me to keep them in my studies since he no longer had a place to keep them in his own quarters."

I turned to him. "You don't like Shakespeare?"

"Shakespeare," he scoffed coldly. "What more than ignorant publications of life and nature. Forgive me for not taking part in enjoying such absurd studies."

"You haven't read Romeo and Juliet?" I asked him, looking down at the book.

"No," he said flatly. His eyes rested once more on the paper he was scribbling madly down on. "Nor do I plan to."

"But this is a _must _read!" I complained. "_Everyone's _read it!"

"Well then apparently your assumption is incorrect," he muttered.

"It's a classic romance tale!"

He glared at me scornfully. "Romance is a revolting excuse for writing. You humans have nothing to believe in each other, so you say it's 'love', which by the way is only pathetic particles in the mind. I almost pity all of you revolting creatures for not believing in something more significant."

Gee, isn't he the life of the party. I observed, "'Revolting' is definitely a favorite word of yours, isn't it?"  
"It basically summarizes everything in the world, so yes, the word does seem to boost my observations," Caius told me formally.

"Well, when I eat _my _food, like take pizza for an example," I explained much to his irritation. "_I _don't call it revolting. I would call it tasty or juicy or something like that. Unlike you, of course."

Caius looked deeply annoyed. "You do understand that you are enormously distracting me from my studies with your sickening words."

"Sorry," I simply said. "Please, go on with your studies or whatever."

I flipped through some of the pages of the faded book, wondering if this was the original. Did Aro ever meet Shakespeare? Hmm…I guess I _could_ picture Aro talking to him in that stupid, playful manner of his. I debated whether I should ask him or not, while Caius kept his fiery eyes on his paper the whole time, his hand moving like a fan. Soon, he seemed to have finished, and he rolled up the long paper that I realized had been hanging off the other side of the desk. Once it was in a perfect scroll sort of figure, he wrapped a light maroon ribbon in the middle, and headed towards the door. Before he walked out, he looked at me sternly.

"Do not leave the room. I will return. Do you understand, human?"

I bobbed my head up and down. "Of course. I wouldn't want to leave the room. That would be so _revolting _of me."

Caius growled at my remark and he slammed the door behind him while I snickered at my own joke.

* * *

**This is more of a Bella gets to know Caius chapter. Hope you like it! Review ^^**


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5**

Caius _finally _let me go to my own room around midnight. It was getting really annoying how vampires forgot humans needed at least eight hours of sleep. After he delivered his letter (which was a pretty damn long letter) he started a new one, while I started reading Romeo and Juliet. We were both mildly quiet, but he did start arguing about how stupid love was or how stupid I was, and other things that were stupid-I mean _revolting _to him. Once I started closing my eyes and leaned against the bookshelf, he woke me up by slamming his fist on the desk. The next time I started to fall asleep, he called for Demetri to escort me back to my room.

I was asleep before I hit the mattress. And then another pounding at the door jerked me awake. Exactly 6:30 A.M.

"Ugh…" I groaned, but forced myself off the mattress, and wobbled to find my backpack. The door knocked again, a lot louder than necessary.

"Just a second!" I called, slipping on the first set of new clothes I had dug out. The door continued knocking, getting more and more louder each time. Geez, since when was Demetri this rude? Damn it, vampire. _Hold on_.

After barely getting enough time to brush my hair, I opened the door, expecting to see the small dirty blonde vampire guard. I was stunned. It was Caius, his bloody red eyes sparkling with impatience. It suddenly made sense why all that knocking wasn't Demetri's doing.

"Where's Demetri?" I asked with a slight frown.

"Unfortunately, Aro suggested that I escort you to my quarters myself from now on," He didn't seem that thrilled about it. Either was I, in fact.

"Alright, lets go," I sighed, and closed the door behind me. Caius formally headed back down the hallway, his speed numerously outmatching mine. His slick blonde hair flowed behind him gracefully with each long stride, his expression dead concentrated. I had to basically jog to keep up with him.

"You're-You're going to fast!" I called after him.

He stopped abruptly, and turned around to glare. "Do you expect me to halt and wait for you to match my pace with every stride I take, human?"

"No, no, it's just I can't walk as fast as you."

"Such a pity for you," he told me icily, and turned around to walk at his super impressive speed again.

"Jerk," I muttered, and started to jog once more.

I took my usual spot next to the Shakespeare bookshelf, pulling out a normal lyric book of poems. Caius had seated himself on his desk, and pulled out a feather pen to begin writing. Suddenly, a low growl ripped through my stomach. Oh God. My cheeks turned on fire.

"What in the right mind was that absurd noise?" Caius's eyebrows knit together.

I had completely forgot to eat all yesterday. I realized I was starving, my whole head turning into a migraine. Did these vampires even have human food? Were they expecting me to eat humans like they did? I gagged at the thought.

"Um…you don't by any chance have like some human food, do you?" I asked him, my hand clutching my stomach so it wouldn't make any more embarrassing noises.

Caius stared at me. "Why would the Volturi ever keep human edible material, may I ask?"

I groaned. I had to eat something…

"Hey, do you think you could take a second off of your studies and go with me to go buy a hotdog or something?"

Caius's expression turned into a mixture of frustration and confusion. "What in the right mind would a _hotdog _be?"

My jaw dropped. "You've never heard of a hotdog??"

He shook his head once. "Nor do I want to know anymore. Besides, your request is sympathetically denied. I would never leave the palace."

"Why? Afraid some paper monster will rip up all your precious treasury while you're gone for only like ten minutes?"

Caius gave me the _look_. "You do realize you are not amusing. The true reason is that the Volturi generals are not permit to leave the palace unguarded."

"There's also a first time," I suggested with an innocent shrug.

The blonde vampire huffed. "No."

"Come on!" I whined. And Edward called _me _stubborn. "It will take less than ten minutes. And Aro said you _have _to escort me everywhere I go!"

"There is sunlight out there, foolish human," Caius muttered. "One step out there and the vampire species will be revealed. Having you know about us if horrid enough."

"If you're scared you'll sparkle, then use one of those sun umbrellas!"

"Parasols."

"Whatever!"

"No," Caius said flatly. "Besides, parasols are specifically used for females. I will not allow myself to utilize such feminine equipment."

"People will think you're feminine enough when they see your _long, blonde hair_," I teased lightly, but Caius snarled. "Sorry. It was a joke."

"I will not leave the palace," he declared, and returned to his writing without another word. I huffed. There had to be _some _way I could get him to come with me. And idea suddenly snapped into my head.

"I know!" I beamed, causing him to jump a little at the sound of my excited voice. "If you come with me for just _ten minutes _I'll promise to shut up for the rest of the day. You won't hear another word from me. Deal?"

Caius had a big NO on his face, but I could see his eyes calculating the thought of getting me to stay quiet for once. After a few minutes of thinking through it, he called for Felix to fetch his very expensive coat.

* * *

The sun was nice and out today, and it felt nice. I hadn't had much sun in Forks. It reminded me a lot of Phoenix and it's blistering heat. It was almost a perfect place to be, except for the tall blonde vampire scurrying behind me, completely covered and holding his "wife's" parasol right above his head so no one could see his face. I smirked and rolled my eyes. He was obviously new at this. No doubt about it.

"You know, I think you're making more people stare than not notice," I told him.

He hissed. "Must you make me experience more humiliating circumstances? Just purchase something already."

"Alright, alright. Oh look, a hotdog stand is just over there!"

"Fantastic. I will wait here."

"No you won't," I tried to push him along but he stayed put. "Come on!"

"Decease your feeble human attempts! If you do not purchase something right this second, I swear I will-"

"Okay, _fine_," I mumbled, and headed towards the hotdog stand. I unraveled a pocket full of cash, waiting for the chubby hotdog salesman to finish with another customer. He smiled wearily at me.

"Hello, miss. What can I get you?"

"One hotdog, please."

"Of course. That'll be two dollars."

I took out two fresh dollar bills and left them on the counter while he scurried off to make a hotdog. I turned around to face Caius, who had lifted the parasol an inch above his face to watch the tasty looking humans walk by without a care. Even though the parasol covered most of his face, a bit on sunlight escaped to his face. The way the sun caught Caius's skin was different than Edward's. Edward's skin was like millions of diamonds, all-shining at different angles. But Caius's face was like a very smooth pearl, no dents or cracks whatsoever.

"Um, miss?" The salesman held out the hotdog like I had been daydreaming for a couple hours.

"Oh, sorry. Thank you," I took the hotdog and strolled towards the ketchup and mustard booth. After a good amount of both, I headed back to where Caius was standing.

"WATCH OUT!!!"

Uh oh. I nervously saw from the corner of my eye that two little boys on bikes were flying straight towards the blonde vampire. One of the boys also had a hotdog, which was loaded with mustard in the same hand he was trying to control the handles on. Caius's red eyes flashed as the bikes drew from the side of his waist, and tumbled on down the street. He didn't fall, but he did stumble back a few feet.

"SORRY!!" The little boys on the bikes called. I heard Caius growl lowly. Not good. NOT GOOD. I flung my own hotdog out of my grasp and ran to grab Caius's arm that was definitely ready to go hunt down those boys for lunch.

"Stop! Caius, stop! _Please_!!" I pleaded, using all my force to pull his arm back but he continued forward. I had to get his attention. But how…?

Without warning, I jumped on his back like I wanted a piggy back ride. Caius immediately snapped out of it, his glare refastening on me.

"Get off of me, you foolish human!!"

I jumped off, breathing in relief. "Alright. Lets get back inside before you try to kill anyone else."

* * *

**Haha, Caius in public. Review ^^**


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6**

**

* * *

  
**

I tried to shut up and focus on some Shakespeare literature for the rest of the day, but I couldn't exactly concentrate. Caius had barely continued on his "studies." Instead he was tapping his quill repeatedly on the desk, muttering how stupid those little kids were for almost "destroying" him and his precious coat. And frankly, it was annoying the hell out of me.

"Insolent little pigs!" Caius grumbled to himself. "Sent to destroy me from Hell. Filth."

That time it was funny. I coughed to hide my snigger, but Caius's ruby eyes narrowed to slits when he caught my expression. "What are you simpering at, foolish human??"

"Who still uses 'pig' for an insult?" I raised my eyebrows in amusement.

Caius was not pleased. "Did I not make you a deal? I distressingly accompanied you to that horrid village of deceiving and detestable mortal souls. I believe you had promised something in return."

"Forgive me for not shutting up," I rolled my eyes and returned to the book I had been scanning through.

"Excuse me, master," Demetri entered the door, his devil eyes sparkling.

"What." Caius demanded, making it not even sounding like a question.

"Aro wants to speak with you."

Caius groaned quietly. "Fine. Watch the mortal for me."

"He requests Miss Swan to be there, too."

I glanced at Caius carefully, who looked bewildered. Finally, he fastened his gaze back at Demetri. "Leave us. We will be there momentarily."

Demetri bowed a fraction before neatly closing the door behind him. I demanded. "What's going on? Why does he want to see me?"

"It's most likely nothing enormously crucial," Caius spoke, straightening out his robes, and motioning me to follow him. "Or crucial at all. Follow."

"Yes, sir." I muttered, and sadly had to jog once again to keep his speedy pace. The throne room was covered with neatly decorated tables, each with vampires sitting in a cross attitude. In the center of the incredibly long table was a huge plate with a gagging sight of dead human bodies. I literally had to cover my fist over my nose and mouth to keep from puking.

Aro stood from the end of the table, his expression shimmering with delight. "I am so honored you two could make the feast!!"

"What is the meaning of this, Aro??" Caius demanded, glancing at the plate of dead mortals. Obviously this was not the way they usually dined.

"You see, dear brother, I figured a way to make Bella more at home would be to dine as humans do! As for us, it would be nice to not eat humans alive for once, don't you think?" Aro beamed. His twinkling eyes moved to me. "I have arranged human food to be brought to you in a moment, young Bella. I hope you won't mind if we dine with you." He motioned towards the giant plate I didn't exactly want to look at.

I forced a weak smile. "Thank you, Aro. You didn't have to do this."

Aro laughed, "It was no trouble at all. You need not to thank me. Caius dear, please sit here next to Marcus. Bella, would you please sit across from him?"

"Um, okay." I awkwardly sat in the correct seat, which was sadly next to Jane. Again.

After Aro motioned all the vampires to eat, a guard dropped another plate in front of me. Astonishing. Mashed potatoes with gravy and I _think _it was pork chops. I _would _have practically demolished the whole plate in a couple seconds, but I wasn't exactly feeling that hungry after seeing what the rest of the vampires were eating. Still, I forced down a couple bites to be polite, and made sure my hand was mostly covered my nose from the smell of moldy flesh and salty blood. Aro then handed me an envelope, which was from Edward. I used that as an excuse not to eat and learned that Edward and the other Cullens were taking care of the newborns pretty well. The bad news was the P.S. They most likely wouldn't be finished fighting them off by two weeks. That meant I had to stay _longer_.

My response was a big: HURRY UP.

"So, Bella," Aro started a conversation while he finished a human leg. "When were the Cullens planning to give you immortality?"

"After I graduated from high school. I think," I said quickly.

"And when do you graduate, dear?"

"Two months."

I waited for Caius to mutter a 'that's too long!' or something, but he stayed silent. Aro nodded at my words. "I suppose that is reasonable. We would not want you to stay human much longer, now would we?"

I agreed bleakly. Aro suddenly turned to Caius with a smug expression. "Dear Caius. Do I see human edible on your clothing?"

Caius froze. I did see from a small glance that there was in fact a small mustard stain on his right sleeve. Caius saw it instantly, his eyes growing larger and larger. Everyone seemed to wait for his reaction.

"ARGH!!" Caius suddenly flew upwards, knocking down his part of the table and sending his plate of human flesh straight towards the dome shaped roof. Then he disappeared towards his quarters while digging at his robes to remove his stain. The plate and human flesh finally landed back on the table. Aro looked absolutely satisfied.

"I wonder what that pretty little yellow piece was-"

"Mustard," I told him, remembering how that little boy on the bike did had a hotdog with lots of mustard.

Aro stared at me for a long second before laughing in a creepy way. "Mustard!! Ha!! What an _interesting _word!!"

"Yea…" And I finished my mashed potatoes in silence. I was so happy when Demetri finally escorted me back to my own room. I prayed that night I would _never_ have to dine with those vampires again.

**Haha, Caius freaks out over a little stain. LOL**

**Very short and boring chapter. Sorry. Next one will be better. SPOILER FOR NEXT CHAPTER: Caius goes out in public again TEHE. REVIEW ^^**


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7**

**

* * *

  
**

Caius made absolutely no intention to talk to me that next day. He had been writing letters ever since he banged on my door like twenty times and refastened himself at the desk. Usually I would have been happy to finally read "Romeo and Juliet" without any disturbances, but I had to admit I missed arguing with him all the time. Maybe he was still upset from that little "stain" from yesterday…

"You don't have to be embarrassed about yesterday," I finally told him, waiting for his annoyed eyes to look up at me, but they stayed fastened on his work. "Aro was just trying to annoy you."

"I do not know what you are talking about," Caius muttered bitterly.

I smirked and sat up; glad to know I wasn't going to be ignored after all. Then my nose scrunched. Wait a sec…what was that awful smell?? _When was the last time I took a bloody shower??_ I panicked, remembering how I had taken a small one right after Edward had taken me to plane, but that was still about five days with no shower. _AAAHHHH!!!_

"Please tell me you have showers," I told him in a desperate tone.

He didn't look up at me, but his eyes narrowed while he continued to write. "Hmph."

What the hell did that mean? Was that a yes? Didn't Caius take showers? In fact, did vampires take showers in general? Hmm. I'd have to ask Edward about that when he would pick me up. I politely asked Caius to be more specific on his answer and he said sourly: "Yes. We do. However they have never been utilized. Vampires tend to keep their skin and hair flawless for hundreds of years therefore taking showers is not necessary. They are displays. To help persuade mortals that we are humans just as they are."

"Okaaay…can I use one?" I asked hopefully.

He scoffed. "I do not see myself stopping you."

"Awesome," I beamed and then added. "Do you have shampoo?"

"Likewise," Caius muttered. "I do believe Jane installed a new container about twenty years ago to be exact."

My face scrunched up. "Ew. Seriously, don't you have a bottle you bought like a few days ago or something?"

Finally he looked up at me. "And why, dare I ask, would I buy something as repulsive as such when I do not even utilize it? I fail to see the point of wasting money for something I do not require."

"Then I guess I have to go back to the village to get some. And _you _will _have _to come with me."

"I refuse to ever penetrate into that town once more," Caius declared clearly. "I have learned my lesson. For your weak excuse for this 'shampoo', what ever happened to merely dumping a bucket of water on the head?"

"Just water doesn't help clean the hair," I pointed helplessly to my greasy brunette strands.

Caius studied me for a moment. "I fail to see something agonizingly wrong with your hair."

Was that just a compliment? From Caius??

As soon as I began to smile he realized what he said. "I meant your hair was an outrageous wreck when you entered the palace and an outrageous wreck presently."

I rolled my eyes and put both hands on the front of his desk. "C'mon. I need to buy some shampoo. You have to take me. Do I have to remind you Aro told you to watch me _wherever I go_??"

"Do not include Aro into this again, human," Caius spat. "That filthy buzzard had already aggravated me enough by unfortunately placing me with _you_. He will _not _expect me to obey your every unnecessary order you do not have the right to attempt. You will escort _yourself _to the village if you must. No one else shall be required to accompany you. Not I."

Hmm. I guess if I didn't have to drag him along, I _could _get the shampoo faster. Not a bad idea. I leaned away from his desk and tucked my hands casually in my pockets with a casual look. "Okay. Fine. I'll go alone. I'll be back in like an hour, alright?"

Caius, for some reason, looked slightly surprised. His eyes narrowed in suspicion and his jaw dropped an inch. "Seriously? You would want to go alone?"

I had to admit, I was also surprised he expected me to argue about it. Did he really think I was that dependent on him? Pur-lease. "Sure. I don't care. No one will be slowing me down after all." Caius scowled, obviously not liking the sound of me calling him 'slow.' I repeated. "I'll be back in an hour."

"Pray tell, why an entire sixty unnecessary minutes?"

"Geez, when did you become my mother?"

"Answer my question, mortal."

"Well, I like to look at different shampoos. Maybe sneak a sniff, too. Damn I hope they have tangerine!"

Caius just stared at me blankly. "Fine. Sniff the dear life out of mortal hair products for all I care. Sixty minutes. No more. No less. I will watch the clock tower."

"Yes, your majesty," I muttered and strolled towards the door. I counted up the amount of cash Edward and Alice had left me. Two dollars less from that wasted hotdog. Still, about three hundred dollars left. Damn it, Edward. You're so freaking insane leaving me with a lottery amount.

Luckily, I didn't run into any vampires on the way out. I skipped going through the throne room (where all the vampires hung out anyway) and snuck through the back door. Shutting the door behind me didn't seem quiet enough, but no one followed me. Whew…

Once I shut the palace doors, my gaze traveled the beautiful village of Volterra. How the hell could Caius see this place so 'revolting?' If _I _had the choice to live here, I'd take it with no hesitation. Well…only if Edward was with me. Oh, and if the Volturi weren't here either.

I recognized the hotdog stand I had visited earlier, the same chubby clerk who gave me a _hey-didn't-she-buy-a-hotdog-from-me-yesterday-before-that-blonde-guy-under-the-umbrella-flipped-out _look. I wandered the streets helplessly, not being able to find one single hair product store. Dang…did this town even have hair products??

Suddenly my eyes flickered to an old-brick like shop at the corner of the market. It looked old and rusty like it was built when the Voluri first moved here. Still, it had bright pink lettering and shelves full of bath supplies. I guess this would do.

To my utter luck, there _was _in fact tangerine. Not to mention a rare strawberry that I had never seen in the Forks shops. I uncapped the lid and inhaled the fresh wild strawberry scent. I was _so _buying this. After tossing both shampoos in a basket, I began to search for matching conditioner.

It was only about a half an hour later after finally left the store. I suppose I didn't have to head back into the palace _yet_. Not that Caius would mind if I just snuck a peek in the clothes shops…

"Hey! Watch where you're going!" a low scratchy voice called from behind me.

I glanced behind my shoulder to see the voice was coming from the clerk at a melon stand, swearing at a dark hooded figure that had accidently knocked down one of the melons. The clerk immediately smoothened the melon that had fallen, and carefully placed it back. My eyes narrowed towards the dark figure. Well, well, well. This was certainly unexpected.

I marched towards the dark hooded man, his face covered by a black painted parasol. I crossed my arms and my eyebrows knit together softly. "You followed me."

"I did no such thing!" Caius barked at me from behind the parasol. "We were simply going the same direction."

"Uh huh. _Suuure._"

He didn't answer. Instead he let out a small growl sound. It must have been a groan of defeat. I smiled very widely. "You were _worried _about me!"

"No," Caius disagreed in a very confident tone. "Aro strictly ordered me to keep an eye on you once you had left the palace. I did not have a choice. I have never cared about your safety, foolish human."

"I thought you said you weren't going to listen to Aro anymore," I responded with a small smile. Caius hesitated to answer.

"Admire the decision or not, I unfortunately had no choice but to obey him. It would be disrespectful to my high reputation."

"Okaaaay…" I sang. I could tell Caius was scowling at me from behind the parasol.

"Back to the palace. Immediately." Caius turned around and started walking at an incredible pace. Once he realized I wasn't following him, he turned back around, annoyed. "Do you lack hearing orders, mortal??"

"My hour isn't up yet."

"What is it that the humans say these days? Isn't is something like, 'so what?'"

"Um, I guess."

"Then, so what!!" Caius barked at me. "For God's sake, human!! You purchased your rotting hair products. It is not necessary to stay! The sun is out!! I have letters to write!!"

"I know, I know, but I wanted to look at-"

"Come."

"But-"

"_Now_."

"Ugh! You're such a JERK!"

"Lets go," he turned his back on me once more, making me scowl at his radiant blonde hair. While I muttered about how I wished someone else were my guard, two familiar little boys ran up to us. I instantly recognized them as the kids who practically ran into Caius a few days ago. Caius seemed to recognize them too because a low throaty growl came afterwards. And this time I was dead sure it wasn't a groan. I automatically reached for his arm to make sure he wouldn't rip their heads off.

"Hello," one of the little boys muttered shyly, not looking Caius in the eye. "Um…we recognized you from a few days ago. My mommy told me to apologize. We're sorry we ran into you. It was an accident."

I was stunned. They were apologizing?? Caius seemed just as shocked because he seemed to have stopped growling.

The other little boy continued, and held out a hotdog full of mustard. "Please accept this hotdog as a sorry."

Caius did not take it. I figured because it was partly because he _hated _mustard and that he was still pissed at the boys. As soon as I began to explain to the boys that Caius wasn't really in the mood, he reached out a bony pale hand to take the hotdog. It was dropped carefully in his palm.

Then the boys scampered off in a happy manner.

I stared at Caius in shock. As soon as the boys were completely out of sight, Caius handed me the hotdog. I took it slowly, and took a fresh bite into it. Mmm. Pretty good with a lot of mustard.

"Don't get any of that filth in my quarters. Is that understood?" He finally said. I nodded once, and we descended back towards the palace.

* * *

**Ugh, this chapter didn't really turn out that great. Oh well. Please keep reviewing!! I love them all ^^**


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8**

**

* * *

  
**

"Done _yet_??" That same old, permanently angry voice demanded outside of my door. I opened the knob slowly to see a very not-happy Caius. "For God's sake, human! What in the right mind took you so long??"

"Sorry," I huffed, my head throbbing from all that loud knocking. "The tangerine shampoo had to sink in a little bit."

"No it didn't," Caius snapped.

I smirked, and lifted up one of my brunette strands to Caius's face. "Here, smell it. It really does smell like tangerine."

"_No_."

"C'mon. It smells better than human blood," I tempted, but Caius swatted my hand with the piece of the hair out of his face, and started down the hall. I noticed that he hadn't taken his normal turn down the hallway of vampire leaders. I frowned heavily. "Hey…I thought your room was _that _way."

"Unfortunately, we will not return to my quarters today. Aro requested my presence at the throne room." The tone of Caius's voice enormously hinted he didn't want to visit the other vampires any more than I did.

"Why?"

"St. Marcus's Day," Caius answered bitterly. "I would expect you would remember the date from last year's incident. It is respectful to stay in our thrones all daylight hours. It is a rule Aro had forced upon us. At dusk, we leave the palace after all the tours have gone through, and hunt for humans."

"To eat?"

"Naturally."

I wondered how they did kill humans. Did they dig them up from a graveyard? Or maybe they just devoured them alive in a dark alley like in the movies. Both of those ideas started to give me rows of goose bumps. I wrapped my arms around my shoulders, but it barely helped at all.

"Can I get my jacket real quick?"

"Absolutely not."

"But I'm cold."

"Does it look like I care?"

"I bet you _would _care if I told Edward you let me freeze," I sneered back.

"The Cullens can be sensitive about my safety. Speaking of that, Aro would probably not be too pleased to know you didn't follow your task of protecting me."

Caius thought about this. With a deep scowl, he muttered. "Make it quick."

I dashed back towards my hallway and dug out my dark blue jacket at the bottom. Something else caught my attention in the backpack. Something cube-like. And silver. My eyes lit up as I grabbed my game-boy. I totally forgot I had this! I had something to do all along. Damn…all those wasted days _reading_…

Caius frowned when I walked back out the door playing an intense game of Pac-man. "I do not recall you requesting anything other than a jacket."

"Yea, but I remembered I brought a game-boy."

"Should I even ask what that is?"

"It's a video game thing," I showed him the screen after I paused my game. "It'll keep me entertained while you sit in your dumb old throne all day."

"Is that so," Caius's eyes burned with frustration. "A terrifying shame you did not possess that _game-boy-thing _before you had sadly been forced in my possession."

"Yea," I agreed. "If only."

Aro had a giant cookbook in his lap once we entered the throne room. No other vampires were there at the moment, but Aro didn't seem to care. Every page he turned, his expression twisted into more delight. I had a feeling he wasn't interested in making any human food, only looking at the pictures.

"Aro, what in the right mind are you reading?" Caius demanded in alarm.

Aro finally looked up, his ruby eyes glistening. "Do not worry for my well being, brother. I was merely scanning this fascinating source of knowledge for the exact definition of _mustard_." He glanced at me. "Unfortunetly my search was remained unfound. But I _did _find many interesting photographs of human desserts. How fascinating! They use tiny tomatoes to decorate ice creams and cakes!"

"Um, cherries," I corrected.

"Cherries!!" Aro repeated wonderfully. "So many new, wonderful words!"

"Uh huh," I agreed vaguely. "Wonderful words. Yippee."

Caius scoffed in disgust at his fellow Volturi leaders before wrapping his robes very neatly around himself and sitting down at his throne. He motioned me to sit at his feet, which I obeyed.

After a while, my game played a little song once I progressed to level three. Caius threw his hands in the air in annoyance. "Would you _please _turn that revolting thing off!!?"

"Why? It hasn't done anything to you."

"I want to listen to that agonizingly annoying song _no more_!"

"In my opinion, dear brother, I find the tune quite catchy," Aro told us, not taking his eyes from the cookbook.

Caius ignored him. "_Turn. It. Off._"

I smirked up at him. "You know what I think? I think it's not the song that is annoying you. The fact that I'm not talking to you is what's bugging you so much."

Caius looked absolutely flabbergasted. "_That is completely UNTRUE!!!"_

"It's so true."

"You don't know what you're talking about, foolish human!" Caius growled.

I stood up and walked towards his throne. "Here, I'll teach you how to play Pac-man."

"I _refuse._"

"It's fun," I sang.

"_No. _Get that revolting piece of muck away from my presence at once!"

"Okay, here's what to do. Put your hands on the 1 button. Then put your other hand on the controls," I forced Caius to hold the game-boy, despite his glare that said _I-seriously-don't-like-you-right-now_.

"Okay, I'm going to start it."

"This is absolutely absurd."

"Just play."

"Why is there a yellow speck in the center of the screen?"

"That's Pac-man!"

"And why is there millions of specks scattered everywhere?"

"Those are the dots that the Pac-man eats!"

"Why would he eat the dots? They do not look appetizing."

"I don't know!"

Caius stared at the game-boy like it was in an alien language. He pointed a bony finger at the ghosts in the center of the box. "What do they do?"

"Those are the ghosts that will try to tag Pac-man. You can't let them tag you."

"Exactly how do I do that?"

"Use the controllers." And before he could ask another question, I pressed the 'start' button. The game made a little sound, and the ghosts and Pac-man were released. Caius merely stared at the screen until the pink qhost easily wandered through the maze and tagged Pac-man. Caius frowned.

"Where did the yellow speck go?"

"You didn't control him! Use the buttons."

The song played again, and Caius pressed all the buttons at the same time. It didn't exactly help Pac-man's way of eating all the dots, but he did manage to dodge the red ghost dude. Caius softened up. "Ha, ha! Take that you pixilated characters!"

I held in my laugh. Suddenly, the pink ghost snuck up on Pac-man and tagged him. Caius growled and hit the screen. "Curse you, you ignorant pink fiend! I will rip the soul out of your lungs!"

"Um, he's like…a video game character."

"I despise them all!!" Caius cried.

I quickly took the game-boy away from him. "I think you've had enough."

"Revolting mortals," Caius grumbled to himself. "And their revolting 'games.'"

* * *

**Sup, y'all. Sorry for the wait. I've been busy with soccer and school…can't WAIT until it's all over. Hoped you liked this new chapter. I'll try to finish the next one ASAP. Review ^^**


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter 9**

Eventually, the rest of the vampires settled in the throne room. Everyone was silent, with frustrated or bored expressions. Aro was still flipping through the cookbook, examining a strawberry cake with like twenty cherries. Caius had his arms crossed, with a permanent scowl. I think he was still muttering about how stupid Pac-man was.

I glanced out the window to see the streets buried with people in red robes. The clock tower roared to life as the long hand reached noon. The same time Edward had stepped out into the light, and nearly got himself killed. My thoughts were interrupted when the squeaky wooden doors opened and the lean figure of Alec entered the room. His expression was blank, but his eyes were dark and concerned. He murmured something to Caius, but I didn't catch what he said. Whatever it was, Caius jerked up abruptly.

"I will return momentarily," he told Aro as he began to walk towards the large old-fashioned doors. "Guard the mortal for me."

And then the doors closed behind him.

Aro frowned, and then pulled Alec aside to read his thoughts. After a minute of panicking, Aro blinked into realization. He didn't look that agonized as Caius, but he did look alarmed. "Demetri, take Bella back to her room, please."

"Yes, master," The devil eyed vampire strolled forward, and motioned me to follow. The curiosity was gnawing through my skin.

"What's going on?" I asked him as calmly as possible.

"A minor discomfort," Demetri assured. "It is nothing too rash."

"Where's Caius going??"  
Demetri hesitated to answer. He probably wasn't that sure he was allowed to tell me.

"Tell me," I pressed.

He opened my bedroom door for me, but I made no motion to go in yet. Finally, he murmured, "Newborn vampires were seen around the perimeter of Volterra. It seems that some of them have caught your scent here."

My heart pounded. They found me…?

"Caius will take care of them before the newborns can escape to inform their leader." Demetri added.

I frowned. "_Caius_ is going to kill them?"

"I believe so."

"But…I thought the Volturi guards were the ones who took care of minor problems. Not the leaders."

"Well, I believe it was _Caius's _task to protect you," Demetri pointed out. "Besides, Caius is a skilled fighter. Although he has not left the city nor fought anyone in centuries…"

"Will he be alright? Maybe one of you should go back him up just in case…"

"Stop worrying, Bella," Demetri said lightly, his devilish eyes playing with me to go in the room already. "Everything will be well taken care of."

He shut the door behind him. I stared at the door for several ticking minutes. Demetri was right. Why would I worry about something so stupid? I decided to finish Caius's left off Pac-man game, and tried my best to straighten the crack at the left corner where Caius had hit the screen. Hours went by, and no one knocked at my door again.

Getting bored of Pac-man, I scanned through the previous letters Edward had sent me.

_The newborns keep coming. I'm not sure when we will finish them all off. Victoria was seen a couple days ago with some newborns, but she fled before I could approach her. I miss you so much. It won't take much longer. I promise._

_Love, Edward_

"Hmph," I muttered, and folded the letter neatly back in the envelope. I considered telling him about some of the newborns catching my scent, but I was too lazy to go ask for more paper. I continued to wait.

Three hours passed. The curiosity was beginning to eat me alive. What if Caius really _wasn't _a skilled fighter? What if the newborns killed him? And if they did kill him, wouldn't they run to Victoria? Oh God, I needed answers. Maybe if I peeked outside, I could see if he was back in the throne room?

Just as I was about to turn the doorknob, the door knocked.

Startled, I turned the knob to see the big, burly figure of Felix.

"Felix," I said in a hinted shocked tone.

"Hello, Bella," Felix answered in a dark purr. "I have orders to escort you to Caius's quarters."

"Oh. Is he back?"

"He has not returned. But Aro suggested that I take you to Caius's quarters to make things easier when he does return."

"Um, okay."

I closed the door behind me and followed Felix even though I practically already memorized where to go. "Um, Felix? Do you think you can get me a couple sheets of paper? I wanted to write back to Edward."

"Of course," Felix approved, yet his expression easily hinted he hated the boy I wanted to write to. He formally opened the door for me, and quickly fled to retrieve a few pieces of paper. It took him only two seconds.

"Thanks," I smiled vaguely.

"Just call if you need anything else," Felix grinned darkly, and vanished down the hallway.

Then I turned around the faded maroon room. Damn, it was hideous. I really wasn't much of a designer, but this room was just…sad. It needed more color. More life. And definitely a vacuum to suck up all those spider webs. I leaned against the Shakespeare bookshelf and began to doodle on one of the papers.

The picture turned out UGLY. I had attempted to draw Caius battling some zombie-looking stick figures that were supposed to be newborn vampires. In fact, Caius didn't even turn out good. I made his face _way _to triangular, and his hair too spiky, but the sour glare I have him sort of turned out okay. With nothing to do, I colored the picture in, and stuck it on his desk. Who knew? Maybe he would like it.

Suddenly, the doors burst over and a tall figure walked in.

"Caius," I exclaimed. "You're back."

His dark, red eyes narrowed. "What are you doing next to my desk, human?"

"Come and see," I grinned.

Caius, annoyed and confused, strode towards the side of his desk, and obviously didn't see any changes. Finally, his ruby eyes landed on my sucky-drawing. He frowned. "That is probably the worst piece of art I have ever laid eyes on in my three thousand years."

I frowned back. "You're not supposed to insult it! You're supposed to say it's good whether or not it actually is!"

"Are you asking me to lie?"

"ARGH!" I threw my hands in the air. "Why are so _infuriating_!!?"

"I'm infuriating. _I'm infuriating_? _She's _the one who leaves a revolting picture of zombie figures on my studies!"

I inhaled sharply, and said coolly. "Okay. Fine. Forget it. Forget all of it. If you don't want the present I gave you, give it back."  
But when I reached out to take it, a long pale hand landed protectively on the picture. "No," he said in a very protective tone.

I smiled.

* * *

**Sorry people. This chapter wasn't as funny. Well, SOME of it has to be serious. Thanks for all the reviews! The more reviews I get, the faster I update the next chapter! UNTIL NEXT TIME- Review ^^**


	10. Chapter 10

**Chapter 10**

**

* * *

  
**

Caius never got rid of that picture. He kept it at the side of his desk; away from the papers he wrote each day. Every time I glanced up at him, his eyes were on the picture, his expression completely blank. I couldn't believe it was true…but I was beginning to think Caius actually _liked _the gift. I paused my gameboy and started our regular screwed up conversation for the day.

"So how did you take care of the newborns?"

Caius quickly tore his eyes off the picture to me. "In truth, I only managed to slaughter one filthy savage. The other three ran off."

I gulped. If they got away…

"None of them have determined your hiding here," Caius added, and I guess that made me feel a tad better.

"So…will there be more?"

"Most likely."

"Well, maybe you should bring Felix and Demetri with you next time," I suggested innocently. "Then you'll actually slaughter them all."

Caius scowled. "Your concern is touching."

"Oh, I know."

"I am not weak," Caius growled, even though I didn't remember calling him 'weak' anyway. "I have not fought in centuries. Do you expect me to still have my touch after all that time??"

"Um, no?"

"That's what I thought," Caius leaned back in his seat, and dipped his quill neatly into some ink to begin writing once more.

"I'm going to write too," I pulled out an extra piece of paper, and slid it on top of a Shakespeare book. "To Edward."

Caius huffed. "How very considerate of you for letting me know."

"No problem," I muttered, and scanned the room for my pencil I had drawn the picture with. "Hey, where's my pencil? Is it by your desk?"

"Pencils," Caius scoffed in disgust. "Nothing more than a mockery of true physical publishing tools. No, I do not see it here."

"Damn it. Well…can I use one of your quills or something?"

Caius's eyes burned. "Absolutely not. They are only for _my _personal use."

"Gee. Didn't they ever teach you how to share in preschool?"

"Preschool-?"

"Never mind! Come on, I'll give it right back."

Caius scowled at me for several agonizing seconds. "Very well."

I stroked the feather part of the quill Caius had given me, and tapped on the very _sharp _end. Who knew? Maybe this would be easier to use than a pencil. After I _carefully _dipped the end in Caius's little ink container, I started to print. But it didn't look like printing at all. The ink made a big, sloppy, black ink spot. Caius seemed to be watching my progress because he yanked the quill out of my grasp. "No, no, no! You are doing it incorrectly! Foolish human! You used way to much ink at a time!"

I stared at him, annoyed. "Okay, okay, _whatever_. I'll use less ink next time. Now…can I have that back?"

"Very well," Caius growled, and handed it back to me. "Less ink."

Then, I dipped the quill back into the ink, ever so slightly. Barely any ink had stuck on. Just as I was about to print and think about how good I did, Caius once again grabbed the quill. "You are not writing it at the right angle!"

"Oh my God!" I snarled. "Who cares about the god-damn angle! Give it back!"

"The proper way to write with this utensil is to keep the elbow off the desk," Caius showed me himself, in a very annoyed fashion. I bet I looked even more annoyed. Caius continued, "All ancient aged vampires know this technique."

"Well, I'm not an _ancient aged vampire_, okay?"

"Write it properly, or not at all."

"Ugh. Fine."

Finally, I _properly _managed to print: DEAR EDWARD. Caius hadn't complained yet, so I guess that meant I was doing it correctly. But of course my luck always ruined everything. My elbow knocked the ink container sideways, and black liquid was splattered all over Caius's robes. He jerked up and let out a screech that sounded like the time there was a tiny spot of mustard on his sleeve.

"Whoops," I actually felt kind of bad. "Sorry about that."

"_You clumsy mortal_!!" Caius screamed at me.

"Hey, hey, calm down," I tried to grab his arm but he was too busy panicking. "Just sit down. I'll wash it off for you."

"It is impossible to wash ink!!" Caius informed me in a harsh tone. "They will remain in this demolished state for all eternity!"

"Um, ever heard of a napkin?"

"You will be punished for these damages!!"

"_Sit down_. God. I'm going to go ask Felix for some water and a washcloth, okay? Wait here."

Caius looked absolutely murderous, but he sat down, and waited for my return as ordered.

* * *

I set the bucket of soapy water next to the desk, and rung out the washcloth. Luckily, Charlie had spilled on lots of his shirts, so I was familiar with stains. Caius had gone off to change his robes. He returned momentarily, in a new dark blue outfit, and roughly handed me his stained ones. He seated himself back in the chair, and watched me venomously.

I shook my head at him. "Put your fangs away, will you?"

"No," he said flatly.

"I'll get the stain out," I promised and added. "Thanks for trying to teach me how to _properly _use a quill. Though I would recommend not teaching me it again."

"You do not need to tell me that twice."

I continued scrubbing the stain out, the water going from it's pink bubbly color to dark from the ink. I examined the robes closer. It was already almost out. "Almost done."

Caius raised one perfect eyebrow. "As in almost finished?"

"Uh, yea."

"Impressive," Caius seemed upset to admit it. "Maybe you are not as worthless at the situation as I assumed."

I looked at him. "I know it's surprising for you, but us humans _do _have lives."

Caius mumbled something I didn't catch. He sat in silence until the stain was completely out. And just because I was a nice person, I cleaned out the mustard stain in his sleeve. I showed him the finished product with a smile. "Look. Now it won't have to remain in a demolished state for all eternity after all."

Caius's expression changed. His narrowed eyebrows softened. The muscles that made him frown relaxed. His lips twisted into a very sly smile. I couldn't believe it. Caius was actually _smiling_!!

But no sooner that soft smile came; it twisted back into permanent frustration when the door knocked twice.

"Enter."

Demetri stepped in. "Forgive me for the interruption, master. Aro and Marcus request your presence. There has been a problem."

Caius stood, and motioned me to follow. "Very well."

* * *

I jogged to keep up with both vampires until we entered the throne room. Only Aro and Marcus were there. All the other Volturi guards had vanished. Besides Alec and a vampress with amazing beauty, who were both firmly grasping the arms of a human. His eyes were grey and sad, dirt splotched all over his forehead and cheeks. He had a decent sized beard that was dirt brown with the rest of hair in tangled brown curls. When he saw me, his eyes lit up with hope, like he thought I would be able to help him in some way. It looked like he was going to say something, but instead he let out a throaty cough.

"Sit over there," Caius motioned towards the benches in the back of the room. Quietly, I obeyed, and tried to not to make eye contact with the man again.

"Thank you for joining us," Aro said delightfully, and then turned to Alec and the vampress. "Alec. Chelsea. What seems to be the problem?"

"We caught the mortal sneaking in the palace," Alec hissed. "He was trying to steal that ancient vase in the common room."

The vampress, Chelsea, seemed to be going to add on to what Alec was saying, but the man said in a scruff voice, "…No food…five days…family… needed…(another cough)…family starving…needed…money…"

"Let me clarify this, my friend," Aro told the mortal. "You wanted the vase so you could sell it, and use the money to buy food for you and your starving family?"

The man coughed a series of times, but nodded.

Wow. That was a pretty noble thing to do. Steal to keep his family alive. Unfortunately, this was the _wrong _place to steal. Aro smiled sweetly, but everyone knew that smile was not a good sign. He turned back to Marcus and Caius. "Well, my brothers. Do you not agree that this man's act was very disrespectful and punishable?"

Caius didn't answer for some reason. Marcus nodded, but he didn't look like he cared. Aro turned pleasantly back to the man.

"Please…!" The man gasped, trying to lurch forward but Alec and Chelsea kept him firmly on the ground. "…My two children…starving! Have mercy my lord…_please_-"

"Alec? Chelsea?" Aro cocked his head to the side. "Name the punishment for the man, my friends. Your choice, of course."

"Death," both vampires spat at the same time.

The man weakly tried to struggle and cry, but all the vampires ignored him. I suddenly had the urge to rush forward and stop what was going to happen. Aro shrugged innocently. "The case has been decided. Who will do the honor of executing this man?"

Both Alec and Chelsea raised their hands. Aro cocked his head away from them. "Caius? I believe I got the last one. It is your turn."

Caius stood up without hesitation and nodded once. Alec and Chelsea both forced the man to the center of the room on his knees. His screams echoed through the walls of the palace. Why wasn't I stopping this!? My legs were frozen. My voice was gone. It felt as if a huge force was keeping me locked to the bench.

Caius slowly walked forward, his eyes glinting with evil and hatred as he stared at the helpless man. He was actually going to kill this innocent human. I didn't know how that shocked me. Caius had always been the one with no mercy. He loved to kill mortals. But somehow…that didn't seem like the Caius I knew these past two weeks.

The man stared up at the blonde leader, trembling. Caius stared back at him, with absolute rage, like he had been in love with that vase. His long, pale hands reached slowly towards the man's neck.

And suddenly, the all-powerful no-mercy Caius, hesitated.

His anger melted into an expression of absolute horror. He stared at the man, and then at his own hands. Then he looked at me.

I didn't know what made him hesitate like that. He looked at the identical, terrified faces both the man and I had currently. His eyes looked pained, like he couldn't believe what he was about to do. Aro, and even Marcus looked stunned at Caius's hesitation. They probably had never seen Caius wait to execute a human.

But then Caius's eyes narrowed, and he snapped out of his mercy state. He grabbed the man's neck with two hands and twisted it once to the right, and once to the left.

The horrifying sound of the crack echoed through the Volturi palace.

* * *

**Hmm. Seems like Caius was having a bit of emotions going through him.**

**As for the Volturi deciding to kill the man, I had to remind everyone that the Volturi aren't all that good. Hope you liked the chapter. I NEED REVIEWS!! Please? For me?**

**Review ^^**


	11. Chapter 11

**Chapter 11**

**

* * *

**

I cried that whole night. I couldn't help it. That poor, innocent man. Just trying to keep his family alive. Destroyed by the hands of a vampire. I watched just yards away as his neck was twisted until it was broken. And I didn't do anything about it.

Tears ran down cheeks. I didn't bother to brush them away. Because I couldn't stop them. I would just keep imagining what that man's family would be doing right now, waiting for his return. But he never would return. And it was because Caius had killed him.

Caius.

I literally felt my stomach twist in disgust at that name. _Caius_. I _hated _him. I _hated _them all!! I sobbed harder. Edward…please take me away from this horrible place!!

At about three in the morning, still awake, I heard the floor outside my door creak loudly. Someone was there. I immediately quit sobbing and screamed, "Leave me alone, you SICK, TWISTED-"

"Calm down," Caius murmured from outside my door. His voice was still that sour and cruel, yet it had a hint of remorse. _Remorse_? What was I saying? Caius didn't feel remorse. He barely had any emotions! He enjoyed watching humans like me suffer! I HATED HIM!!

"How long have you been there!!?" I shouted as more tears were born.

"Long enough," he answered back numbly. "You obviously have no desire to sleep since you have been reckless wailing all night-"

"I'm crying, you IDIOT!!" I screamed in rage.

"Yes. Crying. Whichever," Caius said normally, pissing me off even more. "I will escort you back to my studies. Open the door."

"NO!"

"Excuse me?"

"I don't want to have ANYTHING to do with you, anymore!" I sobbed. "I HATE YOU! You took an innocent man's life just because-"

"It was my job, mortal."

"I don't bloody care about your job!!" I yelled with all the rage I had. "You slaughter humans just for the fun of it! You'll probably twist my neck someday, too!"

"No," Caius promised. I stopped crying. Did he mean that? Impossible. Utterly, impossible. The new tears that ran down my cheeks reminded me that I was still mad at him.

"Go away!" I commanded, and buried myself in blankets. I heard Caius sigh loudly, and I thought for a pounding second he was actually going to break down the door, like the bastard he was. But the door never opened. I heard him say something very quietly before loud footsteps wandered back down the hallway.

"Very well."

* * *

For some odd reason, no one knocked on my door for the rest of the day. Apparently, I fell asleep at around five A.M, and I slept in until about noon. The sun was poking through my curtains, over the beautiful white marble walls of the room. This was strange. Caius didn't even send Demetri to wake me up?

I decided to take a shower since I was sure nobody was going to bother me today. The tangerine shampoo was basically empty, so I started on the strawberry. After rolling up my damp hair in a ponytail, I decided to write another letter to Edward. I played the Gameboy until the battery ran out, and took a nap afterwards. Someone seemed to have opened my door while I was asleep, because some bread and tomato soup was on the counter when I woke up.

It was weird spending a whole day alone. It felt weird without having the blonde vampire around. Not that I wanted him around. But it felt kind of…empty.

The next morning, no one knocked on my door again. I huffed in a disappointed way. Sitting in the room all day was boring as hell, and I was _not _doing it a second time. Slowly, I turned my doorknob and peered outside. Felix and Demetri just happened to be walking down the hallway when I saw them.

"Ah, Bella emerges," Felix beamed in an evil-vampire sort of way. I smiled vaguely.

"Did you want to stay in your room?" Demetri added. "Caius gave us orders to guard you if you weren't going to join him today. The choice is yours."

I blinked. "I don't have to go to Caius's room?"

Both vampires smiled. "Not if you wish."

Wow. That was a first. "Well, I'd actually like to go to the village."

"Oh," Demetri said. "Unfortunately, if that is what you wish, you will need to be escorted by Caius. We will take you to his quarters."

Both of the Volturi guards did not wait for my response. They were already about ten yards ahead. I sighed, and sprinted after them. This was a good way to stay in shape.

Felix and Demetri both gave me a double-door entrance into Caius's room, and did the same thing closing it behind me. Caius was at his desk, his white-blonde hair even more radiant then before. He looked up from his writing, and neatly placed the quill back in the holder.

"And so the mortal crawls out of the cave," he said clearly. I wasn't sure if that was an old saying or something, but I nodded once. He continued, "I hope you enjoyed the absence of my presence yesterday."

"Yea. It was okay."

"Good to hear," he returned to his writing.

"So um…" I nervously walked forward. This was definitely going to turn out awkward. "…Thank you. For giving me some space to clear up. It helped me. Although I don't think I'll ever forgive you for killing that innocent man."

Caius's expression hardened, but he nodded once.

"Oh, and I want to ask you a favor," I added slyly. "You'll unfortunetly have to escort me back to the village."

His eyebrows rose. "Oh no."

* * *

**Caius is definitely changing…**

**WARNING: Next chapter supposed to be super funny!!! XD**

**And thanks to all those reviews! They really helped my confidence!! KEEP REVIEWING!! Review ^^**


	12. Chapter 12

**Chapter 12**

"Hmm," I scanned over both shampoos slowly. I turned around to show Caius. "Which one?"

"For the unnecessary twenty third time, _I do not care_!!" Caius growled, ignoring all the human girls gazing at him strangely. I couldn't blame them. There they were, just getting hair products at a beauty shop, while a pissed off blonde guy in complete dark clothing was just yelling the crap out of someone. So much for trying not to stand out.

I looked back at the tangerine and lemon shampoos. Which one should I get? Damn…where was Alice when you needed her??

"I faced him again. "Just pick one."

"_Fine_. The yellow one."

"Lemon. Okay," I smiled, and started to put the tangerine back. "But…the tangerine shampoo smells so good…"

"ARGH!!" Caius snarled. "I WOULD LIKE TO LEAVE IF IT'S ALRIGHT WITH YOU!"

"Jesus," My eyebrows raised. "Fine. We'll leave. I'll get the lemon one."

"Hallelujah!" Caius muttered bitterly, and followed me eagerly out the door. The women in the store watched us on the way.

Caius seemed deeply annoyed when I didn't follow him back to the palace. Instead, I started wandering down the streets for more things to buy. "_I thought you said all you needed was hair products!!"_

"And clothes," I reminded him. "Look. I only have three outfits. And none of them have been washed in almost three weeks. I need more."

"Curse your feeble mortal needs," Caius muttered.

I rolled my eyes and continued down the street. There were a lot of clothes shops, but all of them were far too fancy. I guess they expected everyone to be rich as hell. Eventually, Caius pointed to an ugly zebra striped sweater in one the clothes shop windows. "Can you just get that, so we can leave??"

My nose scrunched up. "Ew. That's the ugliest thing I've ever seen. Totally proves you have no taste in clothes, Caius."

"I am shocked that you find that surprising."

"Yea, me too."

Suddenly, my eyes wandered across a huge brick building with attractive blue lettering on the wall. _Volterra Ice Rink_.

"There's an ice rink here??" I whirled on Caius with a big smile.

He peeked up at me from his parasol. "Do you truly expect me to observe the city's buildings?"

"Well, you've been here for what, three thousand years?"

"Again with that mortal saying. _So what_?"

"You know what? Never mind," I turned back to building and sneaked over to the door. My lucky day. It was open until six, with five-dollar ice skates. I could see couple and children in scarves and mittens skating happily in the ice rink, helpers wandering in matching jackets. I had skated once before, about the time I took dance lessons. Time to see if I still had the stuff. I reached for the handle and opened the door.

"Where are you going??" Caius demanded bitterly.

"I'm going to ice skate for a bit," I told him. "Want to come?"

"Absolutely not!" he barked. "And I forbid you from going in there!"

"Why?"

"Because I said so, damn it!"

I had no idea where the O-Strict-and-Powerful-Caius ever learned the words 'Damn it,' but I went inside anyway. Caius growled and followed me inside, despite his urge to just leave me there.

I got a pair of skates, while carefully wrapping my new scarf around my neck. Caius sat next to me, glaring at all the happy skaters. "This is absolutely absurd!"

"Why don't you just quit complaining and get yourself a pair of skates too, alright?"

"No."

"It's really fun."

"Everywhere you have taken me so far has never summarized to be _fun_, mortal."

"Fine. Sit here and whine to yourself. Later," And I awkwardly marched off on the skinny-blade skates. I stepped onto the ice, and grabbed onto the railing. But after a while of getting used to the ice extreme slippery-ness, I strode smoothly through the ice rink. I glanced back at Caius who was still on the bench, scowling like the miserable vampire he was. Smirking, I strode over to where he was sitting, the ice rink wall separating us.

"Changed your mind?" I sneered.

"No," he said flatly. "Can we leave?"

"Just go buy some skates and I'll teach you how to skate."

"_NO._"

"Geesh! I thought you were trying to get me more comfortable around you after killing that man basically two yards away from me!"

"Well, your repeating annoyance is distracting."

"Then at least put away your parasol. You look like an idiot."

"_Excuse me_?"

"I'm just saying."

"Why you little-" Caius leapt forward but I easily skated away from the edge, smirking radiantly. Caius growled. "Curses! When I get on that strangely frigid ground, I will punish you severely!"

"Um, you're going to need skates."

"So be it!" And then Caius stomped towards the entrance. I smirked wider. It was almost _too _easy to piss him off. All I had to do was insult him or his hair.

I had no idea where he got the money, but I could see one of the helpers putting skates on his feet. They weren't even tied when Caius shook the helper off and wobbled towards the entrance of the ice rink. I was standing casually next to the edge where I had pissed him off, and Caius's blood red eyes were glistening madly under the parasol.

"Alright, human!" Caius snarled, and stepped on the ice. "Time to get-_WHOOOAAAA-_"

And then he fell. The skates under him flew forwards, and Caius flew backwards. He landed with a hard 'thud,' the parasol skidding across the ice. His radiant blonde hair was revealed, sprawling all across the damp ground, his eyes wide and sparkling with utter shock.

That was probably the funniest thing ever attempted.

I was laughing uncontrollably, ignoring everyone's weird stares and curious glances. A few little children were giggling at the vampire, too. Oh man…if only everyone else knew who Caius really was….HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA…

Caius managed to sit up, his eyes still wide with surprise. Suddenly, one of the ice helpers skated perfectly next to him, holding out a glove hand.  
"Need a hand there, buddy?"

I don't know which was funnier. Caius falling, or Caius's expression when a human called him 'buddy.'

"_No_," Caius spat, and struggled to get back up.

"Aw, I bet you do," The helper grinned, and without warning, hauled him upwards. He pushed him lightly towards the railing, even though it still was too hard for the vampire. The helper drifted off right before Caius literally smashed into the wall.

I skated towards him, trying not to laugh again. "You have ice all over your robes."  
"And the fault is yours!" Caius gripped the railing for dear life, while his skates were angled for another big fall. "Curse that other human who dared to destroy me! I will have his soul!"

"If you can catch him," I pointed out.

Caius snarled, "If this revolting ice ground thinks it can stop me from twisting that ignorant, pathetic mortal's neck, _than it is quite mistaken!!_"

Obviously not learning his lesson from last time, Caius started to flit toward the grinning helper, but smashed straight back into the ice, headfirst. I rolled my eyes.

"Maybe you won't have to catch him," I said. "Maybe you'll be able to lure him over here again. Here, let me teach you how to skate. Then you can walk on it without falling. As long as you promise not to kill that human. No neck twisting."

Caius weakly looked up at me. "Just a little?"

"Nope."

Caius mumbled in disappointment. "Bah. Fine. You have my word. I just want off of this frigid Hell!"

I smiled. "As you wish."

* * *

**HAHAHA, Caius ice skates. AND FAILS! XD**

**Thanks for all of the reviews! More will be greatly appreciated! Review if you want me to update faster!**

**Review ^^**


	13. Chapter 13

**Chapter 13**

**

* * *

**

"Okay. I really think we should go now."

Caius ignored me, reaching back up to the railing to pull himself up again. I didn't bother getting back up. I continued to just sit there on the ice, bruises covering my arms and legs. Damn I hated it when he tripped us both.

There were more people in the ice rink now, all in bright colored sweaters and scarves. No one really paid attention to us, thankfully, but all the falling we did kind of pissed every off. Especially when Caius took them down with him and didn't even say a 'sorry.'

"C'mon. Lets go back to the palace."

"Do not interrupt my intense concentration on how to control these revolting mortal blade-shoe utensils!"

"Um, ice skates?"

"Whichever!"

I sighed. "Edward's going to be pissed when you return me to him covered in bruises, you know."

"Cullen is a weak coward," Caius scoffed. "He does not stand a chance against the Volturi. Let alone myself."

"At least Edward knows how to skate."

Caius scowled at me, before muttering something about how clueless humans were and pulling the rest of himself off the ice. I groaned, not wanting to get up until Caius agreed we could leave. Suddenly, I noticed a gloved hand near my face.

"Need a hand?"

I looked up at one of the ice rink helpers. His hair was in curly, dark waves, covering his eyes, and most of his neck. His blue and red jacket had a little white box on the left that said: HI, I'M MIKE. He gave me a dashing smile as I firmly took his hand and let him haul me upwards.

"Thanks," I muttered, my cheeks burning.

"What is your name?" he asked politely, not releasing my hand.

"Bella."

The helper's expression began to look sort of lethal. "Beautiful name."

"Thanks," I repeated, glancing back at Caius. He still was gripping onto the railing in a desperate movement, but he seemed to be watching us. His eyes burned with hate and horror at the helper I was talking to.

"_Mortal_," the blonde vampire hissed very lowly. "_Step away from him_."

I smirked. "Why? Jealous much?"

"_Mortal, I mean it_."

I laughed and turned back to the grinning helper. "Sorry. He doesn't like strangers."

"So I see," the helper purred. That's when I looked him full in the eye, and my heart froze. Even under his perfect dark hair, his eyes gleamed a very bloodlust red with a hungry black color. Even without the light the ice gave his skin, you could tell he was seriously very, _very _pale. Oh my God.

He was a vampire.

The vampire/helper tightened his grip on my hand, and yanked me towards his chest, locking one burning cold hand on my mouth and the other to carry me. He skated towards the exit where I knew he would find a deserted place to kill me and be on his merry way. I thrashed wildly and jerked my head left and right. None of the skaters did anything but giggle at my thrashing. They must have thoughts I was friends with the helper; goofing off and letting him carry me. Caius lashed forward, trying to skate after us while cursing the vampire kidnapping me. Of course he couldn't skate, and he fell on his face. Oh God… how could I have been so _stupid_?

The vampire dropped me into one of the ice rink's back rooms, closing the door behind him. I stared up at him, horrified.

"Out of all the hundreds of newborns," declared the vampire, his kind and soft voice melted. "_I _am the one who gets to kill you. This is a great honor."

"You work for Victoria!" I sobbed.

"I suppose that is a reasonable answer," The vampire advanced, his tiger claws breaking through the gloves. "No one is going to save you this time, little girl. _No one_."

I could hear my heartbeat echo like a hummingbird's wings through my ears. Stall. I had to stall him.

I had no idea what my brain was calculating any more, but I reached down and grabbed one of my skates. I held out the blade protectively in front of me. The vampire stopped advancing and blinked at me.

"And that is supposed to save you how?"

"Another step and I'll cut you," I threatened, even though we both knew he could easily heal in two seconds.

The vampire laughed. "I'll take my chances."

Then he sauntered forward, claws ready to slit my throat. This was it. My last chance for survival. Desperately, I threw the skate towards the vampire's head, but it went way over him, and lifelessly dropped against the back room wall. Well. That certainly proved I was no good at baseball.

I squeezed my eyes shut one of his dagger sharp claws slid under my neck. I wouldn't live through this. Forget it. The end.

And then, suddenly, the pressure in the claw faded and went completely limp. The vampire fell completely on top of me, his own eyes just as wide and surprised as mine. Just as we both hit the ground, I noticed there was a skate blade deep in the vampire's shoulder. A tall figure stood above us, glaring menacingly at the vampire he just stabbed.

"Caius!" I exclaimed.

"Get behind me," the blonde vampire told me. The helper vampire was too shocked to hold onto me. Instead, he stared dizzily up at Caius.

"How-"

"That was an extremely pathetic thing to do," Caius snarled. "If you had the true audacity of a vampire, you would fight me monster-to-monster for the girl's life. Never the less, you had to trap me in my weakness to go kill her alone. Newborns are such cowards."

For once, Caius's words actually made sense. How he had actually got off the ice and managed to find us crossed my mind, but I figured I could ask him later. The vampire's bloodlust eyes quivered in fear at the Volturi Lord, but he quickly scowled and yanked the ice skate blade out of his shoulder. The wound began to stitch back together.

"Fine," The vampire hissed. "I will fight you monster-to-monster. Prepare to lose."

"Prepare to think differently," Caius hissed back and lunged.

A series of gales past me as two blurry figures snapped and clawed at each other in front of me. They were fighting so fast, I wasn't sure which one was Caius. I managed to see a couple blonde swishes as Caius ripped his claws through the vampire or when he ditched the vampire's attacks. It wasn't even ten seconds before the wind halted, and the blurry visions were back in focus. Caius's hair was a little winded, and his expression was painted with hatred as he held the wriggling vampire's neck in place.

Then Caius noticed my dead frightened expression. "Close your eyes. And your ears."

I didn't argue. I squeezed my eyes and ears shut yet I could still hear that horrifying crack noise. Then, I held his long, bony hand wrap around my arm and haul me outside, where I finally opened my eyes.

"How…" I was completely lost for words. "You-in the-back there- _you saved me_."

Caius released me harshly and then cleared his throat. "Yes, well. Your own foolish choices to willingly go off with a _newborn_ left me with no choice."

"_Willingly_?" I demanded. "Didn't you see me struggling!"

Caius glared at me. I sighed.

"Sorry. Thank you."

Caius tore his gaze away and cleared his throat again. "Yes. I will take you back to the palace. Then I will return here to burn the newborn's pieces."

"Why did you tell me to close my eyes?" I asked.

He stared in confusion. "I believe you once told me killing creatures in front of you bothers you."

"Oh." I looked at my feet, mentally surprised Caius actually cared whether I was bothered by it or not. "How did you get off the ice anyway?"

"I merely unhooked the revolting mortal shoes and walked off," Caius mumbled.

I smirked. "You know, you aren't as bad of a liar as me, but you're still a bad liar."

Caius groaned. "You had earlier instructed me to take strides instead of walking on the ice-"

"And you actually listened?" I was shocked.

He scoffed. "I would not get used to it, mortal."

"Wow! So now you _can _skate! We should go back some other time."

Caius sneered. "As if. Those foolish humans hired a newborn. Who knows how many other newborns they hired."

"You think there's more in the city?"

"I would not be surprised. That is why _you listen to me when I tell you to stay near me_."

"You knew that helper was a vampire the moment he helped me up."

"Of course. He was one of the newborns that I chased off on St. Marcus's Day."

"Ah."

We didn't speak for the rest of the way back. I could tell from the look on Caius's face that a lot of thoughts were going through his mind, but I decided I owed him some silence for once. If that newborn was here, there had to be more. I really had to stay inside the palace walls more often until Edward would come to pick me up. Because who knew. I might not be as lucky next time.

* * *

**Yo, homies! Sorry for the wait. I had testing. And you know how that is.**

**Anyway, thanks for all the reviews! More will make me go a lot faster for the next chapter! Review ^^**


	14. Chapter 14

**Chapter 14**

**

* * *

**

The whole following day, I was drawing pictures. A lot of them-well-_all _of them looked really awful, but that didn't seem to stop me. I drew pictures of Caius fighting the newborn, me ice skating, him falling on the ice etc. Caius was remotely quiet again, writing letters and tying them in maroon colored bows. Overall, the day looked like it was going to be a boring one.

"How old were you when you were turned into a vampire?" I asked, trying to make a conversation.

"Twenty-three," Caius told me without looking up from his work.

"Wow. You're only four years older than me!"

Caius gave me the _look_. "No. I am over _two thousand _years older than you."

"Oh, right."

Caius did his own little way of _rolling his eyes _before collecting a remotely long letter that hung off the other side of the desk. He pulled out another boring ribbon and neatly tied it up in a scroll.

"You should use some pink ribbons," I informed him.

"No."

"I bet the people you write to are always so bored of the same old maroon ribbons."

Caius sighed. "Your concern for their mental suffering of ribbon colors is touching."

"I'm just saying," I shrugged. "You should just change the color up a bit."

"Hmph," Caius murmured, ending that conversation. The door knocked twice, which caught both of our attentions. "Demetri, I repeat that I will converse with you about it later, alright?"

The door opened, and it wasn't Demetri. It was a woman. A seriously _beautiful _woman. Her hair was stringy blonde, curling in all different directions. Her figure was hidden between dark robes, the same type of robes that Caius wore. And then there were her eyes, which were the eyes of a bloodlust crazy maniac. Caius's face, despite her beauty, turned into a deep scowl.

"Why are you here?"

The woman didn't look as startled at his demand as me. "Aro invites you to an activity in his quarters. Do you accept the invitation, dear?"

Caius turned sour. "Do _not _call me dear."

"I apologize, dear."

"I will be there," Caius growled. "Please close the door behind you, Athenodora."

I blinked. Athenodora. Caius's wife.

_Caius's wife?_

"Of course," Athenodora bowed a fraction, and then headed back towards the door. Her pace decreased when she realized a human was in her husband's room, leaning casually against the bookshelf. You could see the confusion sweeping through her maniac eyes as she turned back to Caius.

"I see," she murmured. "You have a snack."

I shuddered. One, because Caius wasn't looking very protective. And two, her words were basically the same thing James had said before he started tracking me. '_You brought a snack?'_

"No snack," Caius told her quickly. "She belongs to the Cullens. Aro ordered me to watch over her until they return."

Athenodora still stared at me with that luscious smile.

"Anyone who harms her will face a severe punishment," Caius added.

"Well, dear," Athenodora tore her eyes away from me. "I am shocked to find you accept the terms of not eating her. She smells _delicious._"

I liked his wife less and less. Something about her was so _deadly_ and haunting. Her eyes burned with a message that said: _I'll be back to kill you later…_

"Away with you!" Caius told her impatiently. Athenodora obeyed and lightly closed the door behind her. The second she was gone; I looked at Caius frantically.

"_THAT'S _your wife?"

"Unfortunately," Caius sighed. "And if your small, human brain is wondering why I acted so cruel to my own mate, it is because she irritates me and I will be overjoyed when Aro allows me execute her."

Well, I guess that answered half of the questions I was thinking about. "Why are her eyes so…_crazy _looking?"

"Athenodora has never been that great with containing her hunger. Let's just leave it at that," Caius stood up and headed towards the door. "She has never interested me. I only married her to increase my reputation. I had believed some point in my life that I would actually be pleased with her being at my side."

"Your mistake."

"Yes, my mistake."

There were still a lot of questions I wanted to ask. Like, would she try to eat me in my sleep? Or if Caius would try to use Athenodora's hunger for me as an excuse to execute her. But I left it at that and hoped for the best. Caius began to lecture me about why we were even leaving in the first place. "About every month or so, Aro invites Marcus and I to play Chess in his quarters. You will unfortunately have to join us this time."

I was stunned. "You like playing Chess?"

"Yes, mortal."

"A Chess-lover. You."

Caius huffed loudly. "Not a Chess-_lover_. More like a Chess-_admirer. _It is the ultimate activity for the Volturi."

"Oh. So Jane and Felix and all them know how to play too."

"Yes. Everyone knows how to play."

"That's cool. Can I show Aro how to play Pac-man?"

"_Do not dare_."

I smiled to myself. I knew the reason Caius refused to let me show off the Nintendo game. Knowing Aro, he would probably be way too fascinated by it and totally ignore playing Chess. And that would make wittle, whiny Caius all alone with no one to play with.

The doors to the three Volturi leaders weren't that far apart. In fact, they were in the same hallway, which confused me why Aro would have to send Athenodora. Never the less, Caius headed towards the black door in the center of the hallway and turned the knob.

I would like to start criticizing about how bad Aro's room was, like I did with Caius, but truly, I could not find one thing wrong with it. The walls were silver marble without any scratches or spiders in the corners, with large matching carpets, a few desks that looked recently purchased, and a variety of black chairs. There were two main seats in the center of the room with a marble table in the middle. Aro and Marcus were both sitting in the main seats, eyes fixed on the chessboard spread out on the table. Aro's ruby eyes snapped out of his concentration when he heard the sound of the door opening.

"Ah, Brother Caius and the lovely Bella make it after all!" Aro stood up, smiling brightly. "I apologize for not retrieving you myself! I was otherwise occupied with this intense game. It seems as though I am about to lose to Brother Marcus. A pity, really. I am finally beaten."

"Finally?" Caius arched an eyebrow while approaching the table. "You haven't beaten _I _since the day we were introduced to the game."

Aro laughed. "Oh, dear me, Caius. I no longer count you as a worthy opponent, for I am not match for you."

Caius nodded once in satisfaction, and motioned me to also approach the table. Aro leaned over Caius's shoulder to look at me. "Forgive me, young Bella, for not greeting you earlier. How are you?"

"I'm fine, thank you."

"Excellent. Would you care to play?"

"Um, no thanks," I said quickly. Truthfully, I had no idea how to play chess. I didn't even know how to play checkers. Aro merely smiled at my answer, accepting the fact that I didn't care to join them, and sat himself back in his chair to finish playing Marcus.

"Your hand looks lovely today, Marcus," Aro grinned. "Can I not have a closer look?"

"Nice attempt," Marcus muttered in a rough voice, while hiding his hand in his robes. "You are not reading my thoughts."

Aro beamed in evil disappointment, and continued with the game. I took a seat next to Caius who was studying the game as intently as his fellow Volturi leaders were. "Hey…can I play Pac-man?"

"I thought it was out of battery."

"Remember? I bought a battery before we went to the shampoo store. At the Apple Store."

"Oh yes," Caius growled. "How could I forget?"

I took that as a 'yes' and switched the on button. Caius flinched when he heard the little Pac-man song. "_Would you shut off the sound? I don't want_-"

"Is that by any chance the catchy tune I heard on St. Marcus's Day?" Aro was looking at us, trying to catch a glimpse of the Gameboy.

Caius glared at me. "Nice."

"Oh, shut up," I told him back.

"I do find this little cube material fascinating," Aro's eyes were amused. "Is it a game?"

"Yes, yes it is," I answered, despite Caius's deep scowl. "Would you like me to teach you?"

"Teach me?" Aro's face lit up. "Lovely Bella, I couldn't be more honored! I hope you do not mind, but I would love if you could postpone the instructions until my defeat?"

"Sure," I smiled back. "Take all the time you need."

Aro turned back to his game, waiting for Marcus to make his final movement. But Marcus wasn't looking at the game. His glossy red eyes were narrowed in confusion as he stared at Caius and then at me. Back and forth. His expression made me wonder what was going through his head but he quickly looked away, as if the thought he was thinking wasn't that important.

"You irritate me numerously," Caius told me scornfully.

"Old news, dude."

Caius looked like he wanted to say more, but he locked his lips in a very frustrated line. I started playing Pac-man, dodging all the ghosts and eating as much dots as possible. Caius seemed to be watching my game as well, since he kept scowling at pink ghost. "I still want his soul."

After some time, Marcus seemed to win the game between him and Aro. Caius sat in Aro's chair to start a new game, while Aro eagerly sat in the chair next to mine. His expression was scaring me. "I am ready to learn more interesting mortal activities!"

"Great!" I said in a fake tone. "Okay, here's how you control…"

It took less than thirty seconds for Aro to figure it out. He started laughing the moment I gave him the Gameboy. "Oh, this is utterly amusing! Ha! I must send for Demetri to fetch me one of these at once!"

"I'm…really glad you like it, Aro."

He continued to laugh, even though he got tagged almost every time. Once it said 'game over,' he instantly restarted it. Then to make things worse for Caius, he demanded Marcus to come watch him play. "Look, Brother! Look at how fascinating this little box is!"

Marcus didn't answer, but he did watch. Caius was in rage being all alone. Slowly, I walked over and sat in Marcus's chair. It really was my fault that he didn't have anyone to play with anymore. Even though it was useless, I offered to play him until Aro and Marcus were done with Pac-man.

"You know how to play?" Caius demanded.

"Oh…yea…yea I play all the time," I lied casually. I wasn't sure if he could tell I was lying, but he set up the pieces anyway, and moved first. Most of the time, where I moved the white pieces weren't even legal, so Caius had to pick out a spot for me. Still, I lost. Brutally.

"Checkmate," Caius sneered as he cornered my 'king.'

"Does that mean I lose?"

"Yes."

"Damn," I sighed, even though I wasn't that disappointed. "Well…"

"I knew from the beginning that you could not play," Caius told me. "I am surprised you decided to play me anyway."

"You looked so alone…"

"Hmm. You interest me," Caius left it at that, and gathered all the remaining pieces on the chess board. From the corner of my eye, I saw Marcus, once again, watching us with a very confused expression.

* * *

**Hmm. Looks like Marcus was reading there relationship…**

**Sorry if this didn't turn out good, I kind of rushed it…BUT STILL REVIEW! Review ^^**


	15. Chapter 15

**Chapter 15**

**

* * *

**

"Okay, okay, I've got it this time," I told the very irritated vampire. I quickly cleared my throat and read off the paper: "_Dear Edward, I hope that everything with the newborns is going well. I am all right. Please pick me up soon. Love, Bella. _What do you think?"

Caius had his face in his long pale hands. If vampires could get migraines, he definitely had one now. "You have been torturing me with unfinished letters for the past two hours. Do I _have _to answer this question?"

"Yes."

"Fine. Yes, it works. Send him that one."

"Okay," I smiled, but then turned thoughtful again. "But…it still seems too short…"

Caius banged his head against the desk.

I grinned as I folded up the short letter and tucked it in an envelope. I couldn't believe a person as nice as me would take joy in making someone's life miserable. "Hey Caius, can you call for Demetri?"

Caius wearily took his head off the desk. "Demetri, Felix, Jane, and Alec are all unavailable. They have all gone hunting for humans. They should return around nightfall. Why do you ask?"

"Well, I've got to send this letter," I held it up. "And you guys seriously let all your top guards leave at once?"

"Why would you ask that?" Caius demanded with a slight frown. "You do not think us Volturi leaders can take care of ourselves?"

I lifted my palms with an innocent grin. "Oh, yea. Of course you guys can take care of yourselves. Silly me."

Caius continued glaring. "_Anyway_."

"Well, if Demetri isn't here, I guess I have to go into town to mail it."

"I forbid it. Too many newborns."

"I know. That's why you're coming with me."

"_What_?"

"Hey, Aro said that you have to follow me everywhere-"

"I have become aware of the fact, thank you," Caius interrupted bitterly. "It has been barely two days since you foolishly almost got yourself killed by that newborn. And now, you already want to go back outside?"

"I don't have anything against the sun," I said. "And anyway, where's the nearest mail station?"

"How should I know."

Fantastic. Just, fantastic. I knew for a fact that the Volturi didn't own computers, so I couldn't go on MAPQUEST. But I suppose I _could _just wander around and find one that way. "Why don't we both just wander around all afternoon then-"

"There's one near the entrance of Volterra," Caius admitted reluctantly, and I glared at him for several seconds for not telling me earlier. "Alright. Cool. Lets go."

"Thrilled," Caius muttered, even though his hardened scowl didn't look anything like 'thrilled.' He followed me out the door, grabbing Athenodora's parasol and mumbling little stuff to himself. The wind hit me like a basketball in the face when I opened the Volturi doors to the town, causing my hair to go flying backwards and my jacket to lean back towards the palace. I breathed in the scent, while Caius, on the other hand, blocked the wind with his parasol.

We weaved through the streets, passing by casual humans and vehicles wandering the streets. Caius revealed more of his face, so he could have a better lookout for newborns. From the corner of my eye, I noticed Caius's eyes. They weren't that usual bloodlust red…they were now black and fiery for human blood. He must have not eaten a human in a while.

"You must be hungry," I noticed, despite the fact we were supposed to be having a normal human conversation.

Caius glanced at me. "I am _not _hungry."

"Dude. I know vampires. Their eyes always go black when they're hungry, and they usually get really cranky," I told him. "But, you're always cranky, so the mood thing doesn't work on you."

Again, his glare. "Thanks for the comment."

"Don't mention it."

We walked in bitter silence. A few times or so, I would look up at the sky and examine the clouds or the sun, breathing in the cool air of Volterra. "Nice day."

Caius followed my gaze up to one cloud shaped like a rabbit. He clearly didn't get what I was looking at. Instead, his eyes narrowed, and then softened, his black eyes in a daze. I knew it was probably impossible, but Caius looked a bit…sad. His expression lost in thought, like he was remembering something. But he quickly snapped out of it, and returned to scowling.

The mail station was small, and made out of rusty, red bricks, like most buildings were. Sadly, we had to go inside to mail the letter. I started to wonder how Demetri sent my previous letters, or how Caius sent all of his. Even how Aro got Alice's message about me staying with them.

Two guys were at the front desk. One was lanky, just like Jasper was, and obviously in his teen years. His hair was strange; a slick, black Mohawk with blue highlights. His skin was bright tan, if that was possible, with small green eyes. The other guy next to him was in his forties, with a neat silver beard and an expression that told the world: _I hate my job_.

"Hi," I said lamely, as I approached the desk.

"Hello," The forty-year old guy muttered dully. He had a small little box on his uniform: _George._ The Mohawk teen dude frowned at us while he popped in chocolates from a heart shaped box. I couldn't blame him. A normal looking girl with a tall guy wearing robes and hiding his face under an umbrella.

I easily slid the envelope to the older man, who handed it to the teen. "Make yourself useful."

The Mohawk guy rolled his eyes and disappeared into the back room with my letter.

"Hold on a moment," The older man told us and also headed into the back room. The Mohawk guy returned first, and politely scooted the box of chocolates towards me.

"Chocolate?"

"Are they good?"

The Mohawk guy shrugged. "They taste like cardboard."

I didn't have anything against cardboard, so I took one. The Mohawk guy leaned around me towards Caius who was glaring horribly back at him. "Um, sir, you know you can put your cute little umbrella thing away, right?"

Caius lowered the parasol over his whole face like what an embarrassed little kid would do. The Mohawk guy chuckled. "He's kind of shy, isn't he?"

"Uh, sure," I said, awkwardly. "Lets go with that."

The Mohawk guy laughed lightly. He held out his hand. "The name's Aaron."

"Bella," I reached out to shake it. Suddenly, Caius was right next to me, and he grabbed my wrist with a bony, pale hand. Aaron frowned in confusion as Caius gave him a death glance.

"We need to leave," Caius growled, and yanked me towards the door with his super vampire strength.

"Hey-" I shrieked. "That man told me to stay-"

But we were already out the door. Caius's pace making it a little obvious that he wasn't human. I gripped his pale hand and used all my force to yank my throbbing wrist out of his grasp. He hastily turned to me.

"What the hell!" I demanded.

"You were about to shake hands," Caius snarled back, "with a _newborn_."

I was flabbergasted. How stupid was this vampire? "He was _not _a newborn!"

Caius raised one eyebrow, which basically said, _and how do you plan to prove me wrong?_

"His eyes were green," I said. "And he wasn't even pale. He was _tan_."

Caius calculated that into his stubborn brain. He obviously didn't want to admit I was right for once, but his expression fell. I almost thought he'd say, '_You dare prove me wrong?' _but instead he simply said, "He could have been dangerous anyway!"

I rolled my eyes. "Oh yes. You could so tell he was hiding some knives in his pockets. My bad."

Caius scowled. "I hate mortal sarcasm."

"I thought you hated your wife."

"Her too."

* * *

**Oh my god…this chapter just would NOT turn out good! No matter how many times I rewrote it! Sorry guys, this is the best I could do. And as for the purpose of this chapter, I figured it was time for Caius to get overly protective and jealous. Ah, Caius. I love that guy 3 Review ^^**


	16. Chapter 16

**Chapter 16**

**

* * *

**

"You consume food uncommonly slow."

I rolled my eyes at Caius's statement and continued cleaning some chocolate ice cream fresh off the cone. I really wasn't a slow eater. Of course, Caius thought so since he was the one intently watching the clock tower after every second. He also hated ice cream since it somehow looked 'revolting' to him. And then to top it all off when I told him that sugar makes me talk a lot.

The sound of drums and horns danced from the end of the street. Everyone near us looked in the direction of the music. I did too, tossing my unfinished ice cream cone into the nearest trashcan. Caius seemed annoyed. "Who is filling the atmosphere with that disgusting tune?"

"It's a parade," I realized, and followed the crowd beginning to form around the streets. Men with bright gold trumpets and flutes equally paced the sidewalk, dressed in red and white uniforms. Caius was at my heels, his parasol annoyingly against my neck.

"Hmph," Caius murmured. "The St. Marcus Day Parade."

"I thought they already had a St. Marcus Day Parade," I frowned, recalling when I had to push through everyone to save Edward. "You know. On St. Marcus's Day. With the red robes and all that."

"Yes, they did. This one unfortunately involves music."

I still didn't get it, but I let it go. Too many tall people were gathering in front of me. Sorry, but I didn't exactly _like _looking at the back of people's shirts. I moved down the side of the streets to see if I could get a better look. Caius grabbed my wrist. "Where are you going?"

"Trying to get a better spot," I said as I tried to peer over a tall mother with a baby in her arms. I continued down the sidewalk.

"You can watch the revolting parade _in the palace_."

"Nah. Looking out a window isn't as fun."

Caius groaned impatiently.

Finally, I found a better spot under the clock tower. Now I could clearly see the flower floats and men in red and white pass without a giant body in the way. This parade _did _look more celebration-like than the other one. This one had the air loaded with confetti and free bits of candy that the children seemed to get a jump on. I even picked up one and popped it in my mouth. I guess I was so lost in the commotion that I didn't notice the tall, blonde vampire next to me was missing.

Where the hell did he go? I was sure he had been next to me a second ago. Okay, okay, I shouldn't panic. He wouldn't just leave for no good reason. He was around here somewhere. My eyes scanned through some of the crowds, targeting any sign of a fancy, black parasol. Nope. Nobody had a parasol. _Where the bloody hell did he go?_

I ditched my good parade spot to search through more crowds. Caius wouldn't leave me. I knew he wouldn't. He had no reason to… unless I pissed him off when I told him I wanted to stay here instead of the palace! Crap! _I _was the one who made him leave! STUPID, STUPID, STUPID-

Wait. Then again, Caius could've left all those other times I pissed him off. He decided to stay with me anyway. So it probably wasn't what I said. But what other reason would he just abandon me at a parade? Damn…what should I do?

Okay, I needed to calm down. This was retarded. I didn't need that stupid vampire's help. I knew where the palace was. All I had to do was march up to his room and demand why he left me there. That would be good. Then I could figure out the exact reason Caius decided to leave me.

Unless he wasn't even there. That could be another reason. Maybe it wasn't what I said. Something must have happened to him. Perhaps a newborn in black armor swooped in and grabbed him from behind. Like they do in movies. No, that wasn't it. I saw the way he battled that newborn. He could totally take another one, even with a backwards disadvantage. Or maybe he smelled newborns on the perimeter, and fled to go snap their necks. No, that wasn't it either. Knowing him, he would at least take me back to the palace before he would go fight.

Either way, he must have left on his own accord. That means _someone _here must have seen him walk by. Should I ask everyone if they'd seen a tall, blonde guy with a black parasol? No, I didn't need to do that. I could handle this on my own. I guess.

Oh God…I was so confused!

Slowly, I dragged my feet passed a brick jewelry shop and slumped against the outside wall. This couldn't be happening. Who knew I was actually lost without that miserable ol' vampire lord. No matter. I had nothing to cry about. I would not cry. I would not cry. I would not cry. I would not-

"Ahem."

I wearily looked up towards the voice. A dark figure returned my gaze. "What on earth is the matter with you?"

"Caius!" I jumped upwards, and had a weird sensation to hug him.

Caius's expression turned into a scowl/confusion. "Why did you leave the parade?"

"Why did _you _leave the parade?"

"Hm," Caius muttered. "I am shocked you noticed."

"_Where did you go?_"

Caius glanced at the jewelry shop, much to my surprise. My eyebrows knit together in confusion. "You went to a jewelry shop?"

"The posters in the walls caught my interest," Caius admitted scornfully. "It seems that they had a St. Marcus's Day decrease on prices. Normally, I prefer jewelry from thousands of years ago, but this locket-" He held up a very dark red heart shaped necklace. "-was strangely fascinating. Seems humans aren't as useless with products as I expected."

"Whoa," I leaned in closer to examine the locket. Weird. You would never expect _Caius _of all the Volturi leaders to buy something like this. The heart shaped locket was edged with very dark red rubies and black pearls. It had a very strange design, something that actually matched Caius's personality. The locket was centered with a rather large white pearl and a small silver handle to open the locket. I cautiously opened the locket, not caring whether or not Caius wanting me to open it at all. Instead of a compartment for a picture, the locket began playing a very soothing lullaby that warmed everything around us. "That's kind of awesome."

"Precisely," Caius agreed, and snapped the locket shut. I suddenly realized an identical locket was in his other hand. I blinked. He had _two _of those lockets.

"Who's the other one for?" I asked innocently. Caius didn't answer.

"Let me guess. Athenodora?"

"_What_? No."

"Demetri?"

"_Excuse me_?"

"No, wait, wait, I _know _this! It's Aro, isn't it?"

Caius threw his head back in annoyance. "Are you that pigheaded, mortal?"

"What do you mean?" I played dumb.

"_It's for you_," Caius admitted in a 'well duh!' tone. I couldn't hide my smug smile any longer. That, and the shock was overwhelming. _Caius got me a present!_

"Really?" I beamed as he reluctantly shoved the other locket in my grasp. He must have been embarrassed, but he masked it well with an annoyed expression. I added lightly, "From the looks of that poster, they also had a star shape and a flower shape. But you wanted to get us the _heart _shaped ones. Aww. I'm truly touched, Caius. Thank you."

"The heart ones were the only ones they had left!" Caius snapped at my smug grin.

"Okay, okay, I believe you." This was untrue. "Thank you."

"Hmph," Caius left it at that, keeping his locket firmly in his hand the rest of the way back to the palace. I fastened the lullaby locket around my neck, admiring the way the sun reflected off the pearls and rubies.

* * *

**Aww, Caius gets her a present and Bella misses him when he's gone! SO CUTE!**

**Hoped you guys liked the new chapter! Please review; it makes me update chapters faster. Review ^^**


	17. Chapter 17

**Yo homies! Just a quick note before you start reading: **

**I've noticed lots of my lovely reviewers are suggesting that I make a few chapters in Caius's POV. I announce that I will be making a companion story to Stuck in Volterra in Caius's POV after I finish this story. That AND I'm making a sequel ^^**

**

* * *

**

**Chapter 17**

**

* * *

**

"Brother, you are quite mistaken," Aro insisted. "I have played over three hundred games of Pac-man with the game boy Demetri purchased for me. And I must insist that the pinkghost is _not _the most deadly to the yellow fiend."

"It _is_!" Caius was growing angry now, leaning over his desk to glare at his 'opponent.' "I have also taken part in a game, and the pinkghost _is _the most lethal! It attacked before even venturing around a corner!"

"Then perhaps the game counsel you were possessing at the time was slightly broken," Aro suggested, turning his milky red eyes to my direction. "Bella, do you believe that the pink figure is the most deadly of all the antagonist figures?"

"Nope," I answered. "The red one, Blinky, is the deadliest ghost. Not Pinky."

Aro leaned back in his chair in content.

"_You lie_!" Caius shrieked at me, standing up. "You do not know _anything _about the game, mortal!"

"Caius, do not frighten the girl," Aro said soothingly, even though I didn't remember becoming frightened at Caius's attack. "All I want is peace. Just admit that I was correct, and we can settle this argument."

"_The pink ghost rules above all!" _Caius snarled.

"I disagree," Aro replied, and a whole new argument began.

Aro decided to visit us today, since he explained he wanted a small break from his studies. Knowing Aro, you would think things would get a lot more peaceful here, but I should've known better. Caius and Aro had been arguing about Pac-man the moment he stepped foot in Caius's lair. And to top it all off, they involved me in their discussion, even though I was clearly _trying to read_. Ugh. So much for the comments on how respectful they were.

About halfway through their next argument, I noticed through Caius's window that the sunlight had completed melted away. Dark clouds filled the skies of Volterra, and thunder roared. Both Caius and Aro's argument ceased as they looked out the window in confusion. Personally, I sighed. I had heard thunder roar and rain spill my whole time in Forks. Not fun.

"Ah, the sun has disappeared," Aro stated the obvious in a very up-going tone. "This does not happen often."

"It doesn't rain that much in Volterra?" I questioned. Wow. I liked the city more and more.

"We should not keep ourselves cooped up in here," Aro said, ignoring my question. "We must go out to the city at once!"

"What?" Caius demanded.

"Caius dear, do you not think we have greatly ignored our human guest by speaking so horribly in front of her?" Aro motioned towards me. "I think we must repay her by allowing her outside time."

Caius looked furious. "I have taken that mortal a series of times outside the palace already, Aro. In addition, why would _you_ want to risk the secret of our species?"

"Do not become blind, brother," Aro reasoned. "Clouds will block our skin, I assure you. A thousand years I have been locked away in here, with not even the chance to hunt for my own prey. I desire this opportunity, Caius. Besides, Bella must be yearning to feel the open air. Am I wrong, Bella?"

"I _would _like to go outside…" I said honestly.

"Then it is settled!" Aro said significantly.

"Wait," Caius barked. "It is clearly going to rain."

"It will not rain."

"You always say that," Caius complained bitterly, "and then it always does!"

"Demetri! My coat!" Aro called for his guard while I began to follow him out the door. Caius grabbed my wrist, not looking too pleased with my previous actions.

"Why did you say you wanted to go outside?" Caius demanded rather harshly. "I accompany you many times, save you from newborns, even purchased a bloody locket for you, and all you can do to repay me if torture me _more_?"

"I'll repay you later," I smiled, while he did not.

Aro brought along his wife, Sulpicia, who truthfully was a gorgeous, stuck-up bitch. Her hair was about Aro's length, but shinier, and her lips were bright red from human lipstick. She was dabbing her mascara when Aro first introduced us, and when I tried to introduce myself, she merely told the Volturi leaders I wasn't that pretty. Oh well. At least she wasn't like Athenodora. Better to have the vampress full of herself than plotting to devour me alive.

We walked pretty far that afternoon. Caius stayed by my side, keeping on his hood instead of bringing along Athenodora's parasol. I wasn't sure if it was because it would embarrass him in front of Aro, or because of the clouds helping him cover his vampire skin. Meanwhile, Aro walked in front of us with his wife. He smiled at basically everyone we past by, which I think only attracted more people.

We made it all the way to a pretty large lake on the very tip of Volterra. Long boats for two people sailed peacefully in the heart of the lake, attracting Aro of course. The winds began to grow stronger, and I suddenly wished I had brought my jacket. Then I noticed that Caius was holding his own coat in his fist, obviously not affected by the wind's chill. Time to see if Caius had it in him.

"Brrrr," I murmured. "It's really cold out here, isn't it, Caius?"

"Not especially," Caius murmured back, not taking a hint.

"Oh," I tried again. "Well, that sure is a warm looking coat you have in your hand."

"Yes, it is," Caius answered. "It was made two thousand years ago out of real animal skin."

Damn it, Caius! I didn't need to be lectured!

"Well, maybe you should lend it to someone who needs it," I suggested through clenched teeth.

"Like who?" Caius raised an eyebrow.

I punched his shoulder. "_Me, _you idiot!"

Caius looked shocked. "What is your problem, mortal? Just say so, next time." Then he tossed me the giant animal-fur coat.

I quickly wrapped myself around it, feeling ten degrees warmer already. "Sorry, I didn't know you were so new at this."

"At what?"

"Never mind," I decided, and the two of us caught with Aro and Sulpicia.

Aro seemed to be examining a family of four tugging two long boats out of the lake. And suddenly, Aro walked up to them, smiling gleefully. "Excuse me, gentlemen!"

I looked nervously at Caius, who returned my gaze. He even knew this was _not _how a vampire should be blending in. The tallest man in the family turned to Aro with a strange expression. "Yes?"

"I couldn't help but notice your extremely lovely looking…er-"

"Boats?" The man guessed.

"Ah, yes! Yes, of course," Aro said delightfully. "I was wondering if I could perhaps buy these two boats from you. Name your price, my friend."

The whole family was looking at Aro, now. The man scratched his head. "Um…they aren't for sale. But, my family and I were going to head for some dinner. If you wanted to, we'll let you use the boats right now, until we get back."

"Oh, certainly!" Aro nodded, and turned to us. "My friends and I would be delighted! We will return them to you in the most proper condition!"

"Awesome," the man said, and turned to the girl tugging the boats out. "Hey, Katie! Just leave them there, honey. We'll get them after dinner."

"Okay," the girl agreed, and scurried along with her family up the shore. We all turned to Aro after the family was gone.

"Boats?" Caius hissed at Aro. "What are we supposed to do with two boats?"

"Why, ride them as the humans are doing out there, brother," Aro motioned towards more long-shaped boats in the lake. "Bella knows how to work them. Don't you, Bella?"

"Uh….well…" I guess I had seen a couple of these boats on television. It didn't look that hard. "Er…yea. Sort of. Here, I'll show you guys."

I tried to tell Aro about how to work the oars and keep the boat balanced. He seemed to get it the first time. Him and Sulpicia were about halfway into the lake when I turned back to Caius. He helped me set the remaining boat in the water. "You're going to come?"

"No, I'm just going to watch the three of you have the time of your lives out there," I muttered sarcastically. "Of course I'm going! Here, you sit over there, and I'll sit right here." Once we were planted in the water, I handed Caius the oars.

He looked up at me with a frown. "Wait, _I _have to do the work?"

"Well, yea!" I reasoned. "Always the guys are supposed to do the oars! _Everyone _knows that, Caius."

Caius growled and roughly took the oars from my grasp. He awkwardly started rowing, and slammed our long boat right into another one. We received some cursing from the people riding that boat, apparently. I reached out to take back the oars. "Then again, maybe I should do that."

"No, no, I got it," Caius insisted.

Our boat flowed more fluently towards the center of the lake, at an easy pace. Caius watched me intently as I reached down to touch the water. A few fish leered by, and I continued to point them out. "Look! An orange one!"

"Very fascinating," Caius sighed.

The winds then got even stronger. Caius's blonde hair and my hair blew sideways. The boat leaned sideways as well. I leveled the skinny boat out, and looked up at the silver clouds. They were silver no more. Now, they were dark and angry. And just like I predicted, heavy drops of rain spilled throughout the atmosphere.

Caius stopped oaring, now trying to desperately protect himself from the water. He didn't have his coat anymore, so he just held his pale hands to the sky, like that would somehow make the raining stop. I couldn't help but begin to giggle at the blonde vampire's reaction.

Caius flashed me a glare through the rain. "Why are you laughing?"

"You're funny," I laughed, totally used to rain. "It's just water."

"You do not understand!" Caius growled. "These robes are _extremely _incapable of getting wet!"

"Stop leaning like that!" I screeched. "You're going to tip the boat-"

And the boat tipped. Caius and I were thrown out of our seats, straight into the lake. I could swim, of course, but the surprise caused me to freeze in the icy lake water. A large arm wrapped around my waist, and jerked me upwards, back towards the boat. Caius and I both met the air, clutching the tipped over boat for support. I coughed a series of times, while Caius merely spit out water he seemed to not be expecting either. Together, we turned the boat back over, and climbed aboard. If the rain hadn't soaked us fully, we were definitely soaked now.

Caius and I looked at each other in silence for a couple seconds before I started laughing. Caius frowned like he couldn't figure out why it was so humorous, but he eventually joined in. The rain continued falling as the blonde vampire and I laughed our hearts out.

* * *

**Haha, that's kind of romantic isn't it? Anyway, I apologize for the wait. I'm just in writer's block. It's sucks. This was the best I got, and I hope you enjoy it! More reviews would help! Review ^^**


	18. Chapter 18

**Chapter 18**

**

* * *

**

"I truly despise water," Sulpicia huffed as she formally cleaned the mascara strolling down her cheeks from the rain. It was her own fault for wearing too much mascara in the first place. And at least she didn't get as wet as me. I was soaked, head to toe.

"Do not fret, my love," Aro draped his arm around his mate's shoulder. "You will always be beautiful in my eyes."

"Hmph," Sulpicia mumbled, like she was bored of Aro's constant compliments.

Caius sat next to me near Aro's fireplace, staring at nothing. He had let me dry myself with one of his most expensive blankets, but other than that, he was strangely quiet. Athenodora sat beside Sulpicia, completely ignoring her whines about ruined make-up. She was staring at me, with dark, hungry eyes. Normally I would have been uncomfortable, but I was relaxed with the fact that Caius was by my side.

Suddenly, the door to Aro's room squeaked open, and it was Marcus who shut it behind him. He walked towards the five of us hanging out in the center of Aro's room.

"Brother Marcus," Aro said delightfully and in confusion. "You did not inform me about your plans to visit. Please, join us."

"I need to speak with Caius," Marcus spoke carefully and clearly. All eyes traveled to Caius's stiff form, and Marcus added, "Alone."

"Is that so," Aro said. "Well then, we will all leave you to speak in private."

"That will not be necessary," Marcus croaked, and headed back towards the doorway. Caius stood up, and began to follow him.

"When will you come back?" I couldn't help but ask.

"Soon," Caius promised me, and then left me with Aro and the wives.

"Ah, Marcus," Aro sighed. "Filled with mysteries."

"Does he normally pull Caius aside?" I asked the Volturi Lord.

"Not that I have seen," Aro replied. "Perhaps it is nothing of importance."

"What do you think they are talking about?"

"Nothing that you should know," Sulpicia hissed at me. I felt like hissing back. She was like a worse figure of Rosalie, except Rosalie didn't have the word BITCH all over her face.

"Sulpicia," Aro scolded in a very playful tone. "Be considerate to our guest."

_Yea, Sulpicia, _I almost blurted out.

Aro talked with his wife for about five minutes until Caius burst in again. His face looked like it was forced to be calm, and his eyes were wild with terror. He walked straight towards me, ignoring the vampires behind him. "Come. I believe you should rest for the night."

I wasn't convinced that me having to sleep was the reason he looked so full of emotions, but I obeyed and followed him out Aro's room. After politely bedding Aro and the wives goodnight, I was left wondering what Marcus really told my blonde bodyguard.

* * *

For me, it's normal to wake up in the middle of the night once in a while. Especially in the Volturi palace. But this time, it wasn't because of nightmares. It was because I kept hearing noises.

The noises were right outside my door. Noises of struggling and panting. I couldn't see very well in the dark, but I _knew _there was someone, or something, right outside my door.

Too tired to go check it out, I fell back asleep.

* * *

Two fresh knocks on the door woke me up. I yawned heavily and changed into some new clothes before I answered the door. It was Demetri this time. Suspicion started to grow on me, because if Demetri was escorting me, that meant that Caius wasn't here. Or maybe those noises in the middle of the night had something to do with his disappearance.

"Hey, Demetri," I tried to sound as casual as possible. "Where's Caius?"

"Caius is not available right now, Bella," Demetri answered. "He is disposing a body out in the woods. He will return around noon."  
"A body?" I said, alarmed. "Whose body?"

"Athenodora's," Demetri said back, and I felt my blood go cold. "Caius's mate is dead."

* * *

Caius returned around noon, just as Demetri predicted. His expression was blank, so I couldn't tell if he was sad or satisfied about his wife's death. From his previous thoughts on her, you would think he would be overjoyed.

"Your mate died," I murmured. "I'm sorry."

"Do not be," Caius merely replied, seating himself at his desk. "I was the one who killed her."

I blinked. "Um, _why_?"

"Her thirst for you could not be held any longer. She was going to come for while you were sleeping," Was Caius's reason. "So I put her life to an end."

"I know you never really liked her that much," I said. "But…isn't death kind of harsh?"

"No," Caius replied, staring at his letters emotionlessly. "Killing her was the best thing I've ever done to her."

"That doesn't make sense-"

"It was New Years Day, 1048 B.C when Aro told me I needed a mate," Caius started. "I was never particularly fond of women, but since Aro insisted, I asked Marcus to go out and find a mate for me. He did so, and found a very nice looking woman called Athenodora. Marcus believed her to be perfect for me. But there was a slight problem. She was already married to the love of her life. Instead of merely finding someone else for me, Marcus killed off her husband and presented her to me."

"That is not possible," I objected. "Athenodora loved _you_, she couldn't-"

"No, I only _remind _her of someone she loved," Caius interrupted. "I did resemble him. But that was all. She truly did not love me. Nor did I to her. And she was never happy here. She was never happy being a vampire. I believe that she did thirst for you badly, but only attacked so I would execute her. She wanted to die and see her precious husband again. So I killed her. End of story."

"You think she's happy now?" I asked.

"Who knows," Caius mumbled. "I personally do not care. You are safe, she is gone, I am satisfied."

"But…since you killed your mate…." I summarized. "Doesn't that mean you have to get a new one?"

Caius stared at me for a while. "What is it that the humans say these days? Isn't it something like, 'damn it!'"

"Uh, yea."

"Damn it…" Caius muttered.

* * *

**This chapter was awful. I couldn't write it very well cause of this stupid writers block! Ugh. I think i will rewrite this. Well, I hope you guys understand that I had to get rid of Athenodora. That way Caius will have to find a new mate * hint hint * Review ^^**


	19. Chapter 19

**Chapter 19**

**

* * *

**

"Lady Athenodora…" Aro began the memorial. "The great wife of Lord Caius Volturi…"

Caius shifted uncomfortably in his throne. I guessed it was probably because he never liked having to admit Athenodora was his mate.

"She was close friends with Queen Sulpicia," Aro continued. "Close friends with Queen Didyme, now passed…"

The Volturi were all packed in the throne room to hear Athenodora's memorial. Most of them had their heads bowed with depressed expressions. I understood why. Athenodora had been with the Volturi for centuries. Losing her was like losing a brother or sister to them. This made me start to wonder if they knew Caius was the one who killed her. Either they didn't suspect Caius had her blood on his hands or they were too scared to accuse their cruelest leader.

Most of the Volturi leaders looked bored. Aro had a sad expression while he spoke, but I wouldn't be surprised if it was fake. Marcus seemed bored as always, but he flinched like someone quietly shot him when Aro said the name _Didyme. _Caius had more of a '_can we hurry up and get this stupid memorial over with?' _look to him. I sat silently at his feet, not sure if I should make eye contact when any of the miserable Volturi members.

"…Queen of Demetri," Aro chanted. "Queen of Felix. Queen of Jane. Queen of Alec. Queen of-"

"Ahem," Caius spoke clearly, causing Aro to skip all the 'Queen of' stuff.

"She was a fine vampress who will be missed in the most loving way. We will never forget all she had done for the Volturi. May we all wish her peace in the afterlife where she-_ oh look! _My video games arrived!"

Aro momentarily ignored the memorial to look at one of the Volturi guards holding a GAMESTOP bag full of game boy games. The soldier held it to his leader. "The…erm…mortal games you requested have arrived at the front door, master."

"Oh, wonderful!" Aro beamed, searching through some of the rocket games in the bag. "This is quite exciting! Thank you, Santiago."

"Of course, master," Santiago gave him the bag and fled back down the hallway.

The Volturi all had turned to see what Aro's distraction was. They no longer looked depressed. They looked down right confused.

"What is the meaning of this, Aro?" Caius demanded to his fellow Volturi leader.

"I had merely requested more games for my game boy," Aro said innocently. "I had no idea there were so many others beside Pac-man. Well, then. I must get started on completing these missions at once!" he then looked at me. "I am so overjoyed to have discovered the world of game boy fiends. Thanks, Bella."

"Yea," Caius glared at me. "_Thanks _Bella."

I laughed weakly.

* * *

Caius ended up adjourning the memorial and taking me back to his room. I couldn't really tell if he was upset or relieved that the memorial was cut short because of Aro's fresh obsession with video games.

"You're mad at me, aren't you?" I guessed.

"No," Caius snapped, but his tone made it was obvious he was lying.

"Look, I'm sorry I got Aro into video games," I said wearily. "If I'd known he'd be obsessed with it, I wouldn't have showed it to him in the first place."

"I did know," Caius snarled. "I knew this was going to happen the day I took you to Aro's quarters. You should have listened to me, mortal. But _no_, you decided to do your nasty little jokes and teach him how to play never-the-less."

"Nasty little jokes?" I raised my eyebrows.

"I've stood by Aro's side for centuries," Caius went on. "He gets easily impressed. And when something impresses him, he intends to get obsessed with it and ignore Volturi issues."

"I doubt that."

"I am dead serious."

"Why are you blaming everything on Aro anyway? I'm sure if _you _found Pac-man interesting, you'd be just as obsessed."

"I would never become overly interested in revolting mortal games."

"Is that so."

"It is so."

"I'm guessing you are only saying you would never be _overly interested _in it because you aren't any good at the game."

"Not any good?" Caius bellowed. "I can beat Aro's scores in a mortal heartbeat."

"Oh yea? Well then maybe you should play _me_."

"Fine. Prepare to lose."

"You can't even press the buttons right."

"Yes, I can!"

"You want to bet?"

"Bet?"

"Yea. If I win, I get something, you win, you get something."

Caius pondered this for a moment. "Alright. I accept those terms. If I win… you have to find a way to Aro off of those foolish mortal games. In other words, get him to forget a _game boy _exists."

"What?" I shrieked. "How the hell am I supposed to do that?"

"Good, I like that you are thinking about it already," Caius sneered. "Because you are clearly going to lose."

I scoffed. This vampire had no idea what he was getting himself into. Did he really think he could beat a Pac-man champion? "Okay, fine, whatever. If _I _win…" I scanned him over and suddenly an idea crept to my mind. "You have to get a haircut."

His hands immediately flew up to his long snowy hair. "_What_?"

"You heard me," I smirked.

"What is it that you find sickening to my hair?" Caius demanded.

"I don't know," I admitted. "But if you have to cut your hair, I know it will destroy you."

Caius scowled and I shrugged carelessly.

"Hey, but that's only if I win. Which I will."

Caius bit back a snarl. "I accept the challenge."

We both shook hands and backed up a step to glare at one another. This was going to be so awesome. I couldn't help but grin widely.

"Awesome. I'll get my game boy."

* * *

I had to admit that Caius did a lot better than I thought he would. He knew how to work the buttons and how to avoid the ghosts. I was actually a bit worried that he would beat me and I would get stuck in Aro trouble. Caius's turn ended when he was tagged by Pinky in the orange round. Caius made another dent in my game boy and cursed at the pink ghost in a weird ancient language. Eventually, I got him to write down his score and wait for mine.

As I predicted, I won the bet. I got past the orange round with still a life left, but I didn't need it since I already won. Truthfully, I didn't care whether or not Caius got a haircut or not since it was such an easy competition. But like the stubborn idiot he was, he mumbled, '_a promise is a promise_.'

Caius was gone the whole rest of the day. He left Demetri and Felix guarding me until he returned, but I decided to accept Aro's invitation to hang out in his room. Sulpicia was also there, trying out some new fancy lipstick. For someone who always hung out with Athenodora, she seemed perfectly fine to me.

While I helped Aro figure out a race-truck game, Marcus and a good-looking guard entered the room. Marcus had a bit of happiness in his expression, which was kind of weird.

"Good afternoon, ladies," Aro told the vampire visitors without looking up from his game. I coughed back a laugh.

"It is I, Aro," Marcus corrected.

Aro looked up at them immediately. "Oh, my! I could swear that from the corner of my eye you two looked like women! Ah, silly me! Forgive me, Marcus."

"Apology accepted…I suppose," Marcus muttered. He obviously didn't like being mistaken for a lady.

I looked closer at the guard next to the Volturi leader. Damn. He was _really _attractive. I didn't know if it was possible, but he was better looking than Edward. Or maybe that was because I hadn't seen Edward in weeks. I didn't know. I felt my cheeks and the back of my neck begin to burn up.

"Bella?" Aro must have sensed my heartbeat quicken. "Are you alright?"

"Yea, yea," I choked out.

The vampire next to Marcus seemed to frown suspiciously at my stare. But I couldn't look away. Because his frown made him look even more beautiful.

"Well, I suppose you should be heading back now, Bella," Aro sighed. "I hope to see you again shortly."

Heading back? But Caius hadn't picked me up. What was he talking about?

The attractive vampire tore his gaze away from mine and started heading back towards the door. Marcus and Aro did nothing to stop him, and I began to get that same sulking feeling like when Edward had missed school a few years ago. The vampire glanced back at me, suspiciously.

His eyes weren't like rubies. They were almost like roses, red but with a very soft touch. His face was perfect, more perfect than any vampire I had ever seen, which a shiny pearl touch. Then his hair was in careless strands, trailing all the way until the bottom of his neck. A few light colored strands fell in his face, brushing away that common, boring Volturi look. If he were any more beautiful than he was, I would have dropped dead on the spot. No joke, either.

Then, I realized something was strange about his perfect face. It was familiar. _Too _familiar. Oh no…

"Well, mortal?" Caius asked. "You coming or not?"

* * *

**LOL oh, Caius. You should no better than to challenge Bella to a Pac-man competition. Anyway, I hoped you liked the chapter and understand why I ended up giving Caius a haircut XD This way, Bella will be even more attracted to him then before * YAY * Review ^^**


	20. Chapter 20

**Chapter 20**

**

* * *

**

I truly hated Caius for getting that haircut.

All day long I couldn't stop peeking over my Shakespeare book to stare at the beautiful vampire before me. And then every time he'd return my gaze curiously, I'd hide my face in my book and blush wildly. I couldn't help it. The way his snowy blonde hair was parted and waving around his face… the way his pearly pale face reflected in the sunlight… _Oh God! _What the bloody hell was I thinking? Curse that stupid vampire. And his stupid haircut.

Slowly, I peered up from the book to glance at the blonde vampire once again.

"Why are you constantly staring at me?"

Oops. He caught me. _Crap._

"Sorry," I said quickly, locking my eyes back on the book.

"That does not answer my question."

"You just look…" _Beautiful? Gorgeous? Totally attractive? _"…different."

"Yes. Corin cut it," he twisted one of the blonde strands near his eyes. "She said that most male humans have this sort of haircut."

_Yea, but _they _can't pull it off like you can, _I almost blurted out.

"You're heart rate has increased," Caius added. "I find it quite annoying, truthfully. Is there something wrong?"

"Nope."

"I don't believe you."

"I'm just…hungry."

Caius expression softened. "Ah, so that is it. You do realize you could have told me of your hunger condition instead of sending your scent flying. Is this normal behavior for mortals?"

"Um…yea." _Please believe me._

"Hm. Very well."

Caius stood up form his desk and formally fixed his robes. He called for Demetri to bring a coat. I guess we were going back to town today. Demetri arrived moments later, holding out a crimson colored chest instead of a giant, furry jacket.

"What is this?" Caius demanded.

"Er, it is from Aro, master," Demetri couldn't help but flinch at his master's tone. "He wants- no, _orders _you to start wearing this clothing when you travel into mortal towns."

"Is that so," Caius muttered, and slowly opened the chest. To my utter shock, he pulled out a pair of jeans, large vans with green colored shoelaces, and a white shirt with a formal collar. Caius eyes bulged. "Aro calls this _clothing_?"

"Most guys do wear that kind of stuff," I pointed out. "Aro must want you to blend in more or something."

"I am _not _wearing this," Caius declared.

"Er, master?" Demetri added. "Aro told me to tell you that if you refuse to wear the mortal clothes when you go out in public, that he will tell every being in the palace about your run-in with the werewolves."

Caius's eyes bulged even more. "He wouldn't!"

"He claimed he would," Demetri smiled grimly.

"Give me the revolting mortal clothes," Caius growled, and stomped off to his dressing room. He angrily slammed the door behind him, and Demetri and I both exchanged smirks.

"So…" I said. "Run-in with werewolves, huh?"

"I'm sure Aro will tell you sooner or later," Demetri assured.

A few moments later, Caius stepped out of the dressing room. My breathing came to a halt. Damn. Why did he have to look bloody good in EVERYTHING?  
Caius seemed to be annoyed with the collar as he casually stepped towards the desk in his vans. Demetri coughed back a laugh, but Caius caught it.

"What's so amusing, Demetri?"

"Nothing, sir."

"No, I want to know."

"I insist that it is nothing, sir."

"Hmph," Caius huffed and awkwardly looked at me. "Come on. Lets just get this horrid hunger matter over with before I strangle Demetri until he tells me what he finds so impossibly hilarious."

Demetri cringed. "I will be on my way, sir."

"Damn right you will," Caius growled, but gave his Volturi guard a joking smile before him and I headed into Volterra.

I couldn't help but notice how much more different Caius looked than the first time he went out with me in public. Besides the clothes and hair changes, he had his head raised high and proud, walking with ease and dignity. He didn't even bring his parasol, since he was now convinced that his pearl skin would not reveal the vampire species.

After I bought a sandwich and a soda, we both sat under the clock tower. I could see from the corner of my eye that Caius was scanning over some of the females that walked by. He didn't look very interested, but I knew for a fact that he was searching for a new mate. I also noticed that his eyes were on a pretty blonde girl working a cotton candy stand for most of the time.

"Is she going to be your new mate?" I couldn't help but ask.

"Absolutely not," Caius quickly looked away from the girl. "She looks too much like Athenodora."

Good point.

Suddenly, two girls, both about my age, walked past us much slower than necessary. One was African American, with dark curly hair, while the other was dirty blonde with icy blue eyes. They both had low tank tops and skirts that were closer to their waists than their knees. I was pretty sure by their constant giggling that they were talking about Caius. Caius didn't notice them.

The blonde one casually dropped a pen from her hand, obviously dropping it to get Caius's attention. It worked. Caius's rosy eyes flashed up the blonde's, and he handed her back her pen.

"Oh, _there's _my pen!" The blonde girl exclaimed, her icy eyes fully on the blonde vampire next to me. "Thank you _so much. _You're _so sweet_!"

Dumb blonde.

"Thanks," Caius mumbled.

"Say, do you live around here?" The blonde girl cocked her head eagerly to the side. "What school do you go to? Do you go to Marcus High down the street?"

Stalker.

I decided to butt into the conversation whether that dumb-ass blonde liked it or not. "Actually, we both graduated from that school three years ago."  
The blonde scanned me over, less happily. "Oh." She turned to Caius with a bright grin. "So you're in college! That's _so _great! Oh, and by the way, I'm Jordana."

"Caius," The blonde vampire muttered.

"Caius," The blonde girl repeated, trying out the name in her tongue. "Cool name. This is Diane." She motioned towards the African American girl. "We both dumped a couple of jocks last week. Ugh. So lame."

"What's wrong with jocks?" I pressed.

"I'm sorry. Who are you?" Jordana raised her skinny little eyebrows at me.

"Bella," I said back, proudly.

"That's nice," Jordana muttered, and turned back to Caius. "So anyway, are you going to the Fall Festival?"

"What Fall Festival?" I asked before Caius could.

"You know. The one they do every end of April. There's a bunch of games, music, dancing-" She flashed Caius another grin. "-making out."

"We aren't going to be there," Caius told her.

"You aren't?" Jordana whined. "Why?"

"Matters to take care of," Caius left it at that.

"Oh, well…I hope you decide to come anyway," Jordana blinked her long eyelashes out at the blonde vampire. "And I was wondering if-"

"Oh, Caius," I interrupted purposely. "We should be getting back. Your parents have that event going on pretty soon."

Caius wasn't taking a hint. "What event-"

I elbowed him in the ribs.

"Right," Caius said quickly, glaring at me from the corner of his eye. "Event. Here we come."

"Aw, you're leaving?" Jordana pouted. "Well-um-I'll hopefully see you again. Hopefully…"

I yanked the vampire along. He seemed surprised at my anger, and eventually shook me off. "Your actions were a bit unnecessary, mortal."

"Hey, I was just saving your time," I defended myself. "You don't want _her _to be your freaking soul mate."

"I was not looking for a soul mate," Caius said back. "Nor do I want a soul mate. I just need a wife. Someone that can fill in for Athenodora. Besides, I was not even searching. I will leave that duty to Marcus once more."

"Seriously?" I raised an eyebrow. "What if he chooses someone like Athenodora, again?"

"Why does all this matter to you anyway?" Caius demanded.

I thought this over. That was a good question. _I _couldn't even answer that one.

"I don't know."

* * *

**Okay, so the whole object of this chapter was to get Bella jealous lol. And I just finished planning out the rest of the story, so if you guys want the chapters to come faster you all must REVIEW! MUAHAHA ^^ **


	21. Chapter 21

**Chapter 21**

**

* * *

**

"You are truly trying to kill me, aren't you?" Caius sighed as the two of stood outside the Fall Festival Volunteer sign-up booth.

"Come on," I told him. "I already used the last of Alice's money. So if I help prepare the Volterra Fall Festival, I'll get paid. See? Eight bucks an hour. That's a pretty good deal."

"But why do _I _have to do this labor with you if I do not need the money?" Caius complained.

"Because I need someone to argue with."

"Great reason."

"Thanks."

I began to approach the booth until Caius grabbed my wrist and yanked me back. "Here, I have a solution that will benefit us all. The Volturi will lend you a couple hundred dollars. That way none of us have to do physical work. Deal?"

"Nah, it's okay," I said, much to his dismay. "Because if you guys give me money, I'll have to pay you back, and then the Cullens will have to pay for me, and…yea I really don't want to get into all of that. Besides, I want to earn my own money for once."

"Since _when_?" Caius frowned.

"Since _none of your business_."

I shook Caius's cold grip off and stepped in front of the booth. A middle-aged lady with short, red hair returned my gaze with a kind smile. A small little name tag near her left shoulder said TINA. "Hello."

"Hi," I said. "I'd like to sign up."

"Certainly. Name?"

"Bella Swan and Caius-"

"_No_," Caius hissed.

I sighed. "Fine. Just Bella Swan."

"Alright," The lady scribbled down my name in fancy cursive. "You're the second volunteer we've had all day. I'm afraid not too many people care about the Festival this year."

"That sucks."

"Yes. Yes it does," The lady seemed lost in thought before she snapped out of it. "Anyway, you see that young man on the cafe roof? With balloons?"

I squinted. Sure enough, I spotted a college looking guy with a scary black Harley jacket and evil sunglasses blowing air into a red balloon. Dang. I was at least a hundred yards away from him and he already scared the crap out of me. I slowly nodded.

"His name's Gabe, and he's the other volunteer," The lady explained. "You can start by climbing up that ladder and help him finish blowing all the balloons. Once you two finish the balloons, come back down here and I'll give you your next task for the day."

"Lovely," I muttered, and strolled back to Caius.

"Well, you know where the palace is," Caius told me and started back down the street. I grabbed his arm.

"Wait a sec! You're leaving me?" I cried.

"I have work to do," he said reasonably.

"Come on," I whined. "Just stay for like…an hour or something."

"Why?"

"Because that guy…creeps me out," I admitted. "Don't leave me alone with him!"

"You'll get over it," Caius assured me, yet it didn't sound that assuring at all.

Then something struck me. What the hell was I doing? I didn't have to beg him to stay like a crybaby. He'd stay regardless. Never once I had been alone outdoors, because he had been worried about my safety. I quickly released his arm taking a step backwards.

"Okay, that's fine," I said casually, turning towards the direction of the ladder. "You must have a lot of work to do. I'll just do this on my own. Lets hope that this Gabe dude isn't a newborn. See ya." I started walking down the street, refusing to look back. No surprise, I couldn't hear Caius walking away.

_3_… I counted down in my head. _…2…1…_

"Perhaps I'll stay for a few hours," Caius caught up with me.

I smiled. I was awesome.

* * *

The Gabe guy didn't seem to like our presence. The moment Caius and I climbed up the latter, he glared at us from his dark glasses and started blowing balloons on the other side of the roof. Caius and I had both shared a suspicious glance, but we started blowing our own balloons, watching the town beneath us.

"When was the last time you heard from Cullen?" Caius asked, breaking the long silence.

I frowned. "Why does it matter to you?"

He shrugged. "I just think it's kind of rude that he would ignore you while you are living with a bunch of mortal eating vampires. That's all."

I rolled my eyes. "Sure you do."

He murmured something that I didn't catch.

We sat in more awkward silence, getting closer to finishing the bag of balloons. We were about done until he started a conversation up again. "You must be excited to go back to your little rain town."

I thought this over. When was the last time I thought about Forks? Let alone Forks being the place I was supposed to go back to. It really felt over the last six or seven weeks that Volterra was my real home. I tried to shrug uncaringly. "Back to Forks. Back to all that rain. Yay. Really looking forward to all that."

Caius noticed my heavy sarcasm, and he frowned. "So you aren't excited."

"No, no, I am…" I said. "I just hate all that rain."

"I've noticed," Caius muttered.

"Hey," I replied hotly. "_You _hate rain more than I do. Remember when we were on those boats at the bay? You figured holding your hands towards the sky would amazingly keep you dry."

"Water disgusts me," Caius defended himself. "And anyway…I trust that you will be overjoyed to be reunited with Cullen. Tell me, how many little arguments have you guys had?"

For some reason, it looked like he was expecting a big number. I thought this over. "None, really."

"_None_?" Caius gaped.

"Yea…we aren't like most couples. We're just sort of…perfect for each other, I guess."

"Is that so," Caius went back to blowing a balloon. "It must be pleasant to have a perfect relationship."

"It is nice," I sighed. "But now that you mention it…it is kind of boring."

"How so?"

"Like…there's nothing that exciting about the two of us. We both love each other, we both know so, and…and that's basically it."

"So you are unhappy," Caius decided.

"No, I'm happier than ever with him," I disagreed quickly. "I'd never want to leave him. Not in forever."

Caius tried to mask a flinch, but he failed miserably. I frowned. "Um…why do you ask?"

"Mere curiosity," he muttered quietly.

"Oh," I changed the subject. "So…when is Marcus going to go find a new mate for you?"

"He is most likely doing so as we speak," Caius twisted the balloon tabs in his fingers. He then added boldly. "I trust my fellow Volturi leader to find me the most unique, glorifying woman that is out there."

I only nodded. Something about his words put a leash on my happiness. I stared at the beautiful blonde vampire, trying to detect any joke or smile into his face. Nope. He stared back at me dead seriously. I turned away.

"Well…" I sighed. "I guess we should go figure out our next task."

* * *

"I am officially lost."

I flashed a grin at Caius who was awkwardly holding a hose. He clearly didn't know how to use it, let alone what it was. I grinned. I had a great idea in mind.

"Tina said we have to hose down these wooden signs from last year's festival," I said the obvious.

"Like I said before," Caius muttered. "I am officially lost. How in the world do I use this thing?"

"Here, I'll show you," I grinned evilly. "See this? It's called the nozzle."

"And I do what with it…?"

"Point it directly at your face."

Caius did so, and I could barely hold in my laugh any longer. He glanced at me suspiciously. "But how is holding it to my face going to help us clean the-"

"Just hold it there."

Caius sighed, and kept his mouth shut. I backed up towards turn the water on, trying to hide my evil smile.

"Are you sure this is what we're supposed to do?" Caius pressed.

"Completely."

Then, I twisted the water onto full blast.

The hose jerked, and sprayed Caius full on the face. It only lasted him about two seconds before he realized what was going on and dropped the hose. He dropped with it, shaking the water out of his hair like a dog, and gaping at me in the most perfect, shocked expression.

I laughed.

Caius then did his own evil little grin and grabbed the hose nozzle still spraying water uncontrollably.

Uh oh.

"You're _so _going to get it now!" Caius laughed darkly, and pointed the nozzle in my direction.

I screamed, water covering me completely, my hands blindly trying to protect myself. Protection. I needed protection!

I dived behind one of the largest boards, buying me some time. I knew for a fact that Caius would eventually come in and wipe me out again. Sure enough, another hose lay right before me. Smiling, I grabbed the nozzle, ready for Caius next blow.

Caius then jumped behind the board and began to shoot me. I started to laugh, and pointed my own hose back at him.

The two of us were laughing and using the hoses for our own causes the whole next hour and a half. We eventually got tired of laughing, dropping to the floor, exhausted. And to top it all off, we were soaking wet.

"Edward would have never had a hose fight with me," I sighed as I stared at the silver clouds in the sky.

"Why?"

"Because he'd think it would hurt me," I said. "He'd think it would make me cold. There's a list of reasons."

"I'm still going to get you back for tricking me like that," Caius warned.

I giggled. "Too bad I'm too good to be tricked."

Caius scoffed and then turned serious. "I think we should be getting back."

"I suppose," I agreed, realizing the night wind was beginning to come.

I rolled over and sat up, keeping my eyes fixed on the vampire next to me. I could vaguely still see that this Caius was the same Caius that despised mortals and hated everything around him. He was different now. He was better.

Caius returned my stare, the sun reflecting off his eyes. His golden eyes.

* * *

**Wow. Caius switches to animal blood instead of human blood... FIND OUT WHY IN THE NEXT CHAPTER! MUAHAHAHAHA!**

**Oh, and be sure to read the next chapter because it's supposed to be really important anyway O.O**

**Please Review ^^**


	22. Chapter 22

**Chapter 22**

**

* * *

**

"I know I'm beautiful," Caius told me. "But your stares are incredibly distracting."

"It's not because of your beauty this time," I replied.

Only yesterday did I realize that Caius's eyes were growing from bloody red to rosy red because they were turning gold. _Gold_. The eyes of a vampire that drunk animal blood. Not human blood.

"I can't believe it," I shook my head. "You have freaking _gold _eyes!"

"I fail to see why this is such a big deal," Caius growled.

"You- out of all the Volturi-" I stuttered. "-_you hate animal blood_!"

"Yes, I do," Caius sighed. "But what other choice did I have?"

"What are you talking about? Of course-"

"I was growing hungry, so I hunted one of those deer things. Ugh. It will take a few months until I get used to the taste."

"What's all this talk about 'no choice' and 'hating the taste?' If you were hungry, why didn't you just hunt a human?"

Caius took a deep breath, and looked me in the eye. "I do not have the strength to kill a human anymore."

I blinked.

"There, I said it," Caius muttered. "Happy now?"

"That doesn't make me happy," I said. "It made me more confused."

Caius huffed. "Why?"

"How can _you_-the mighty Caius-not have the strength to kill a human? You said all those things before that you love the suffering that-"

"I just do not have the mental capacity to harm humans," Caius said as casually as possible. "Ever since I executed that human thief weeks ago, I've grown a weakness. A weakness that prevents me from my usual enjoyment of sending mortals to their deaths. The weakness makes me think harming mortals is…cruel."

"It is cruel," I pointed out.

Caius scowled. "Well, of course you would think so."

"Wow," I breathed, trying to sink this all in. "You aren't going to hurt anymore people. You actually did something nice."

"I am nice," Caius frowned.

"Um, not really."

"I have been nice to you since the day you walked in."

"You call your behavior towards me when I first arrived _nice_? Makes me wonder what your _mean _is."

"You do not want to know."

"I think I'll take your word for it, actually."

Suddenly, the door knocked twice. Marcus stepped in.

"Marcus," Caius addressed.

"I would like to speak with you for an hour or two," Marcus said plainly.

Caius immediately looked at me, and back at the other Volturi leader. "Of course. Allow me to escort her to Aro's quarters."

"Meet me in my quarters."

"Of course."

Marcus lightly closed the door behind him. I tensed. If Marcus had to talk to him that definitely must have meant that he had found Caius a mate. My heart pounded. I had to find out what they were talking about. Unless Caius would tell me afterwards.

"Come," Caius told me.

"How long will you be gone?" I demanded.

"As long as Marcus announced," Caius replied. "An hour or two."

"Two hours tops with Pac-man freak?"

"Hey, at least you won't get bored."

"Meh."

Caius vanished after opening Aro's door for me. I slowly stepped in, recognizing Jane and Alec formally sitting on the floor, game controls in their pale hands. It looked like Aro was teaching them how to play _Super Mario Brothers _since that was the game on the screen. They both did not notice the sound of the door.

"Good morning, Bella!" Aro suddenly appeared behind me, which was kind of creepy.

"Good morning," I said politely.

"Caius already informed me that we will be watching over you this afternoon," Aro said pleasantly. "I hope we can find you something to entertain you for the few hours you're here. Oh! Which reminds me…"

He pulled out a fancy letter from his robes.

"A letter from Edward Cullen."

"Oh," I sighed, and took it. "Thank you."

"The pleasure is all mine."

I quickly unfolded the letter, tossing the envelope behind me. To my surprise, there were only four words on the paper:

_We can't find her._

Her? He must have been talking about Victoria. _What did he mean he can't find her? _And where was the 'I miss you, hope you're okay' and 'I love you' part? Damn it, Edward.

I felt my pockets for a pencil, but they were empty. I glanced at Aro who was occupied with watching Jane and Alec's video game. I guess he wouldn't mind if I quickly went to get a pencil from Caius's room.

Slowly, I opened the door and tiptoed towards the next doorway. But my tiptoeing came to a halt when I heard voices from another door. It was Marcus's room.

Now, _usually _I don't encourage myself to eavesdrop and listen to other people's business…but this time…my brain had a mind of it's own.

I sneaked towards Marcus's door, forgetting the pencil matter. Peering inside the room, I spotted Marcus and Caius sitting face to face in maroon colored chairs. Marcus poured a dark red liquid into two glass teacups that looked really expensive. Marcus held out one glass teacup to the blonde vampire, but he kindly declined it.

"I'm sorry," Caius said. "But I no longer drink that anymore."

I suddenly realized the dark liquid was human blood. Gross.

Marcus nodded once. "Is that so. This is a great change to you, Caius."

Caius merely shrugged.

"You know why I have requested your presence, am I correct?"

"You've found a woman, I presume."

"Yes," Marcus held his head proudly, straight in the eye. "I have. There is a young lady in her mid twenties who lives near the gates of Volterra. I believe she has a good leader quality and seems to be fond of musical instruments. Personally, I think she would be…Caius, are you listening?"

"Forgive me, Marcus," Caius snapped out of it. "I was lost in thought."

"Lost in thought," Marcus repeated. "What ever about?"

"Well, you see, the mortal drenched me with water yesterday," Caius explained. "I was merely scheming how I was going to get her back for it."

"Bella Swan?" Marcus raised an eyebrow. "The Cullen's human?"

"Yes."

"I've noticed you think about her quite often," Marcus went on.

"_What_?" Caius shrieked. "I do not!"

"I may not read thoughts," Marcus said. "But I do see relationships. And the relationship between you and Bella Swan is a pretty strong one. One of the strongest I've seen in centuries."

"Anyway," Caius bit. "Go on with what you were saying before I was distracted. Tell me of this woman."

"I fail to see why I should continue talking about her if you already had someone in mind."

"I have no one in mind," Caius growled.

"Do you," Marcus challenged.

Caius huffed in an annoyed tone. "What is it, Marcus, that you are trying to get out of me? What do you _want _me to say?"

"I do not want you to say anything but the truth, Caius," Marcus explained. "I have been Volturi leaders with you for quite some time. I believe we have grown a certain respect for each other. This is why I do not want to force anything on you. I want you to be happy, for once in your life. And I know where your happiness is."

The blonde vampire turned his gaze to his shoes.

"You do not understand, Marcus," Caius snapped. "It is not that easy. I would never even _consider _the possibility of taking Bella Swan as my wife."

"Why ever not?"

"Because she is a human," Caius barked. "She is a human that must _stay _human. If I ever transformed her and locked her away from all her little friends just so she could fill in Athenodora's spot, that would make me the most selfish, ugly monster alive."

"I do not understand, Caius," Marcus suddenly turned puzzled. "I thought you wanted Bella Swan immortal. You were the one who ordered the idea of her becoming immortal before the end of this very month."

"Well, the deal's off," Caius snarled. "That girl does not deserve to be forcefully turned into a monster like one of us."

"You seemed to have put a lot of thought into what you are saying," Marcus observed. "You cannot deny that you _have _considered Bella Swan becoming your mate."

"Yes," Caius murmured softly. "I've considered this many times. Even before Athenodora was murdered. But what does it matter. I cannot take the Cullen's mortal for my own. As I had said before, it would be too selfish."

"That is not all the reason you try to ignore your feelings for the girl, is it?" Marcus leaned forward, eyes sparkling intently. "There is something else. Something else you are not telling me. I must know. I can help you."

Caius didn't speak.

"You love her," Marcus said.

Caius suddenly whirled around to face the other Volturi leader, his golden eyes glowing with rage. "_But she does not love me_."

Marcus's eyebrows raised in shock. Slowly, he sank back his maroon colored chair, eyes closing with peace. "Caius, how can you come to conclusions like this? You do not know what goes through her head."

"No, I don't," Caius turned away from him. "Nor will I ever. But I've seen the way she thinks of me. It's written all over her face. She would never, in a million decades, ever choose me over the Cullens."

Marcus sighed reasonably. "So that is the missing part. Caius, you know I can read her emotions towards you the same you to her. There _is _a very great bond. Why do you choose to ignore it? If you love the girl, then take her. The Cullens will not be able to do anything about it."

"But she would be unhappy," Caius countered. "And if she was unhappy, I would be as well. Bella Swan will live the rest of her human life with Edward Cullen, and we will remain here and mind our own business. That is the way it will stay."

The two Volturi leaders were silent for a few moments afterwards. Caius eventually sat back down in his chair, and sighed heavily. "Tell me of this woman you were discussing earlier."

I immediately backed away from the doorway, knowing that if I heard another word I would burst into tears.

* * *

**You guys definitely deserved another chapter ^^ Anyways, hoped you liked it and PLEASE review!**


	23. Chapter 23

**Chapter 23**

**

* * *

**

The Volterra Fall Festival started at about seven P.M when the sun had fully disappeared over the mountain. I watched from Caius's window as the townspeople all lined up for tickets, smiling at what they saw before them. I sighed. Too bad I wasn't allowed to go.

I couldn't see why Tina had said the Fall Festival wasn't popular. It looked like the whole town had attended. A few small roller coasters and Ferris wheel were scattered among the open cement, men selling cotton candy and pizzas at every corner, thousands of pink and orange lights shining up the entire festival. It truly was beautiful.

Caius seemed to notice my gaze out his window, because his extremely swift writing came to a stop. We hadn't talked all day, him for his own reasons, and mine because I was too stunned and overwhelmed knowing his real feelings for me.

"What are you watching?" were the first words I heard from him.

"The Festival," I said as casually as possible.

"Would you like to attend?"

My eyes flashed up to his. "You'd let me go?"

"If you stop being incredibly silent," Caius told me scornfully. "Your silence is making me curious. Suspicious, almost."

I blankly looked at my lap. I was glad he couldn't read my mind and find out that I was eavesdropping on a conversation I really shouldn't have heard.

"Well," Caius sighed, formally laying out his Volturi robes while he adjusted the collar on his mortal shirt. "Lets get this over with."

I forced a smile, figuring that getting outside would get my mind off of Caius's words. "Lets."

* * *

Tina was the one selling the tickets outside the festival. The wait was hell. A group of five girls were giggling behind us the whole freaking time, going on and on about how hot Caius was. When we _finally_ got to the front of the line, Tina looked up at us.

"Hello, Bella," she beamed. "I was hoping to see your face."

"Seems your little unpopular festival is the party of the night."

"I guess I was wrong," Tina admitted, and handed us a pair of elf hats. The hats had red and green stripes and a small golden bell on the very top. What the hell?

"What are these for?" I demanded.

"Everyone who goes into the festival is required to wear them," Tina explained. "This way we will know who has actually paid to get into the festival, in case others just decide to jump in without paying."

I examined the hats more closely with a frown. "Hmm. Elf hats, also known as Christmas hats for a Fall Festival. That makes sense."

"We did try to order some interesting leaf bracelets," Tina shrugged. "But we did not have enough money at the time. And, well, these were in the storage from the Christmas Carnival…"

"Alright then," I led Caius away from the booth and into the festival. I handed him a hat. "Well, here you go."

Caius examined his hat for several blank moments.

I stuck the triangular elf hat on my round head as we walked under a rainbow shaped out of balloons. I turned around to see Caius still hadn't put his elf hat on. I guess he needed help.

"You have to put on that hat," I informed him.

"And look like a complete moron?" Caius raised an eyebrow. "I'm good, thanks."

"Here, I'll help you put it on," I reached for the elf hat but he swatted my hand away. I huffed, "Why do you always have to make things difficult?"

"Oh, yea," Caius muttered. "Because this is an extremely embarrassing situation _for you_."

"Hey," I snapped. "Sarcasm and clumsiness is my thing. Get your own."

Caius growled, but continued walking, finally putting his hat on. My eyes wandered over the many roller coasters, people screaming with joy as they were whirled round and round. What made it even funnier was that they couldn't lift their hands in the air because they had to make sure their elf hats stayed on their heads. Caius seemed to speed up whenever we passed a pretty large roller coaster, probably anxious for me to not tempt him onto going on one. But I wasn't going to force anything on him. After all, he could've not let me go the festival at all.

Suddenly, my eyes found two familiar looking girls near the Ferris wheel. They both were glancing at us, giggling. Uh oh.

"Um, hey Caius?" I tried to push the confused vampire along. "Can we go over here instead-"

"Hey, Caius!" The blonde haired Jordana called, speeding towards us at a pretty fast rate. Diane, her African American partner followed just as eagerly.

"Damn," I muttered. Caught again.

Caius turned to the two girls, his face as uninterested as before. "Hello," he said politely.

"We were hoping you would come," Jordana breathed, straightening her hair out from sprinting. Of course she had to make herself look nice. "So can me and Diane hang out with you?"

"We aren't staying that long," I told them bitterly.

Jordana faced me. "I don't think I asked you."

"I don't think I care," I replied icily.

"You know what?" Jordana stepped towards me. "I'm beginning to-"

"Hey," Caius suddenly spoke up, hushing Jordana quickly. "Lay off her, alright?"

Jordana blinked in surprise. "I-I'm sorry, Caius. I didn't mean _you, _it's just-"

"Come on," Caius grabbed my wrist and pulled me alone. "Lets get out of here."

There weren't even words to describe how good it felt to have Caius completely squash that dumb blonde. Once we were far enough away, I started cracking up. "Should I even begin to tell you how much I love you for saying that?"

Caius frowned slightly at my words, obviously not catching on. He stared at his feet in silence, while I shrugged it off. My eyes fell upon the giant Ferris wheel, circling ever so smoothly, people yelping as they reached the very top. I never gone on one, but it probably felt amazing to be on top of the world for a few seconds. I yanked Caius's arm.

"Hey…you thinking what I'm thinking?" I motioned towards the Ferris wheel.

Caius looked at the Ferris wheel in horrifying eyes. "Please no."

"Come on," I whined. "It'll be fun!"

"Of course it will," Caius muttered. "Because everything else you thought was going to be fun always turned out beautifully."

I rolled my eyes. "The ride doesn't even look scary. It's covered in lights. And it's only a round per time you go on."

Caius shook his head flatly.

I sighed, but suddenly spotted a familiar guy with a Mohawk and blue highlights in the Ferris wheel line. He was all alone. "Hey, it's Aaron. I guess I can go ask him to go with me. You stay here."

"One round," Caius snapped, at my side again. "That's all I'm doing."

"I'm glad you changed your mind, Caius."

"Shut up."

"Sir, for the third time," the Ferris wheel worker sighed, exasperated. "You cannot continue leaning out of the seat."

Caius shot him a menacingly evil glare.

"I cannot start the Ferris wheel until you sit down properly."

"Caius," I tried to push his shoulder backwards. "Relax. Sit back."

"I want off this thing," Caius demanded.

"It's too late," I sighed. "Come on, just do what the dude told you. Please."

Caius reluctantly sat backwards, still gripping the handle tightly. The Ferris wheel worker checked the rest of the people after strapping them all in, and started the ride. We were jerked backwards ever so slowly, and Caius went all tense again.

Slowly, I reached out and curled my hand into his. He stared at me, bewildered at my touch, but eventually I could see him relax. The Ferris wheel took us towards the very top, reflecting over the beautiful city lights of Volterra. Sounds of peaceful crickets and far away sirens danced through the atmosphere, wiping out all troubling thoughts that came to mind. We were flying-it felt as.

From the corner of my eye, I could swear I saw Caius smiling down at the city- his city. He returned the grip I had on his hand, his peaceful golden eyes on me. I returned his gaze with a smile, but quickly looked away, blushing madly.

There were no words to describe that moment on a boring old festival ride. Everything just melted away, nothing else mattered. I was free, nothing would ever harm me again. I was safe. I was safe with Caius.

And then, the Ferris wheel ride started drifting back down, back towards the festival. We went with it, the beautiful view of Volterra growing larger and larger until it was back to its normal size. We had been pulled away from the sky, back to Earth.

The ride finally came to a stop, and Caius and I both got off, releasing hands. After the rest were off as well, the Ferris wheel worker opened the gate back to the festival. "Thank you all for being so _obedient_." I noticed he was looking at Caius as he said this, but Caius didn't notice.

"Well," I said. "That wasn't so bad, was it?"

"No," Caius murmured. "Not bad at all."

And he wasn't even being sarcastic.

* * *

"You know what?" I said as I practically devoured my stick of fluffy pink cotton candy. "If I ever learned how to make this stuff, I'd make like a gigantic bush of it and eat it all at once."

"You sound very sure of yourself," Caius observed.

"I am very sure of myself," I replied. "Hey, can we go back and buy another stick? I'm starving."

"Oh no…"

"What? Are you afraid I'm going to get fat or-" Then I realized he wasn't saying 'oh no' to me. I followed his horrified gaze near the entrance of the festival, where about six dark figures in elf hats were heading towards us. Oh my God…

"Brother Caius! Bella!" Aro called rather loudly, leading the others behind him. "We have learned of your absence and decided to-"

"Would you _please _quiet down?" Caius hissed, glancing at some of the people gazing at us curiously. "And what is this? Why have you come?"

"Forgive me, brother," Aro said sympathetically. "I was unaware that I was uninvited to this elegant mortal celebration."

"No, it's not-" Caius sighed, and leaned around Aro's shoulder. "And you brought Marcus, Jane, Alec, Felix, and Demetri? Lovely. Just lovely."

"What is the matter, brother?"

"None of them should be here!" Caius barked, now angry. "This many Volturi members outside the palace walls at once is extremely fatal! This risks the safety of our species!"

"You worry too much, is how the humans would put it," Aro smiled, and brushed past Caius. "Well, we are off! To explore the enrichments of mortal culture on this fine evening!"

Caius was not happy.

"Wait," I said automatically. The Volturi turned. "Um…if you leave you're going to miss the fireworks."

"Fireworks?" Aro's head cocked interestingly to the side.

"Yea…" I pointed towards a firework sign on a ride. "They're going to put them up in like…a few minutes. That's why everyone's going over there to watch them."

"Tell me, Bella," Aro said. "What are _fireworks_?"

"Um…they're kind of like…" I didn't like this kind of science. "Uh…lights that go in the sky."

"Lights that go in the sky," Aro repeated. "Bemusing. I must see this. Forgive me my humble servants, but we will delay our journey to see the fireworks."

No one dared to complain.

"Will these _fireworks _involve some kind of torture or negativity to my being?" Caius was the first to break the silence.

I scoffed. "Like Aro said. You worry too much."

"I have reason to."

* * *

The six Volturi members and I found a spot to watch the fireworks near a pretty big fountain close to the lake. Caius and I sat on one of the steps while the rest of the Volturi stood, disgusted with the fact that one of their Volturi leaders was sitting like other humans were.

The fireworks started the moment we found the nice spot by the fountain. Hundreds of green and pink lights exploded in the sky, fading away to darkness that was covered by new fireworks. Golden sprays of light burst and fell, colorful dots burying the moon completely. We were all in awe of the firework's beauty, how it lit up the dull city of Volterra.

The Volturi stared at the fireworks in confusion, unsure if they should be amazed or repulsed. Aro was the only one who looked completely dazzled by the fiery lights in the sky. Caius did look pretty baffled as well. He didn't smile, but his eyes were glistening with surprise. I felt a twinge of sadness for the Volturi. They never got to see amazing stuff like this.

Many of the people sitting around us were leaning against another's shoulder as they watched the firework show. I realized I too was leaning on a shoulder, Caius's. He didn't seem to notice, and I didn't take my head off either. Because after all that I had seemed to go through over the years I've been at Forks, I was finally happy. Finally whole again.

"_But she does not love me!" _Caius's statement to Marcus rang out through my ears. Surprised, I glanced at Caius in the corner of my eye, and all the events in the past six weeks came rushing towards my brain. Everything that we did together. And then I realized something.

I had something to say back his statement.

* * *

**FINALLY, this chapter's done. Thanx for all your wonderful reviews and stick around- 'cause the next few chapter are gonna be intense O.O and YES this chapter does have a point XD**

**Review ^^**


	24. Chapter 24

**Chapter 24**

**

* * *

**

The firework finale began to start, setting off the entire sky full of bright colorful explosions. It was unbelievable, the emotions it created. So full of life and magic-

"I will return momentarily," Caius whispered, causing me to tear my gaze off of the fireworks. "Do as I tell you, and stay here with the Volturi."

I blinked in astonishment. He was leaving?

Caius gave his hand to Aro before vanishing into the dark shadows of the buildings. I tried to read Aro's expression, but he remained emotionless. He then seemed to share Caius's intentions with Marcus, who did show a slight frown. That did it. Something was wrong. Why else would he leave everyone in the middle of a beautiful firework show?

I stood, marching straight to Marcus. "What's going on?"

"Nothing of importance," The Volturi leader spoke dryly.

"Something _must _be going on," I pressed.

"Please heed my advice, dear Bella," Aro said. "Caius is fine. He merely had to dislocate himself from the show for a few moments. There are no newborns, if that is what is worrying you."

I'll admit that did make me relax a bit. But something still couldn't be right. "Why would he have to dislocate himself? Is he feeling alright?"

"He is feeling perfectly fine, dear Bella."

I didn't buy this. "Tell me where he is."

Aro smiled at me sympathetically. "Bella, I'm afraid we can't-"

"He is heading towards the bridge," Marcus suddenly interrupted, receiving some disbelieving glances from his other Volturi members. "It is only a few blocks North of us now. It is impossible to miss."

"Marcus…" Aro murmured, his milky red eyes shining with confusion.

"She has a right to know," Marcus defended himself with ease.

"I'm going to see if he's alright," I announced, and started towards the nearest path to the bridge.

"Bella, please!" Aro cried. "We cannot simply let you wander the corridors of Volterra unguarded! You mustn't leave-"

"If there are no newborns, then I have nothing to worry about," I told him back. Aro opened his mouth to protest but I was on a roll. "Believe me, I've pretty much memorized where everything is in the city. I'll be fine."

"Bella-"

"I'll be fine," I repeated sternly.

Aro didn't stop me again.

The crackling sound of the hundreds of fireworks died down, ending the show and clouding the night sky with dark smoke. Crickets were nearby, singing into the silence and fading when my footsteps were heard. The silver moon managed to avoid the senseless firework smoke, sending a bright, comforting light over the city. It was a perfect night to tell Caius the truth.

I would have never guessed it would come to this. Never. Not even when I was back in Forks, momentarily thinking about choosing someone else in my life after Edward had left. Never once I had a clue I would think this way for another being.

It had only been six weeks. Six weeks for me to completely change my view on things. From week one, I had been terrified of the Volturi, with their big bad red eyes and cruel intentions on both humans and vampires. They really did seem like the villains. Especially that horrible blonde Volturi leader that was supposed to protect me during my stay.

But as the weeks went by, I had noticed something more to him. He had a good side. A side that he rarely showed, mostly out of pressure from his other Volturi leaders. He thought he had to be cruelest to be the strongest. But it was quite the opposite. And I was proud that he had realized using fear and evil wasn't the way to control. More than proud.

It was only about a day ago when I overheard him tell Marcus he loved me. He considered asking me to become his wife for many times apparently, but he decided that doing so would make him selfish. That and he didn't think I loved him back.

But I did.

All this time, I never had the slightest _clue _that I returned his feelings. I had been blinded by the fact that he was only with me at all times to protect me- accomplish the task Aro had given him. But it was so much more than that. No matter if he was angry or annoyed with me, he stayed by my side. And at the same time, he respected my space. He wasn't afraid to argue with me, and could make me laugh at the same time. If it was possible- he was more perfect for me than Edward.

But it wouldn't work out. No matter how much I loved Volterra, I belonged in Forks. In Forks with my dad, and the Cullens, and Jacob, and everybody else. I didn't want to be needed by them anymore, though. I wanted to stay here and be at Caius's side. I wanted to teach Aro some more video games and help Marcus regain some emotions. I wanted be guarded by all the Volturi guards that I began to grow bonds with. I seriously wanted to be with the Volturi more than the Cullens.

So I had to tell Caius my feelings. He would convince me to stay. When the Cullens would come to retrieve me, he would tell them I wanted to live in Volterra forever, but I would visit them every once in a while. I would tell Edward that I stilled loved him, but I loved Caius more. And then we would finally be happy here forever. In the place I considered my true home.

I was beginning to see the bridge from afar, but it was darkened by the night. I could see that there were two figures; the taller figure obviously Caius. I frowned slightly, wondering whom he was with and if I should approach them at all.

I walked slower, keeping my breath steady as I made out the person who he was talking with him. Who could he be meeting with? Would I know the person if it was daytime? What about the Volturi?

Suddenly, the two figures heads leaned in and connected. My eyes bulged as I saw a better version of who Caius was with. It was a _girl_. A girl with long, dirty blonde hair and a perfect slither of eyeliner just below her bright icy eyes.

Jordana.

And he was _kissing _her!

At that exact moment, I turned on my heel and fled.

Buildings were big blurs in my vision as I pushed myself to run faster and faster. Run, I thought to myself. Run. Keep running. Don't look back. Don't ever look back. Just keep running. I have to get out of there. Run. Keep running. Doesn't matter where you're going. Just run. Keep going. Don't ever stop. Run. _Run. RUN_!

Fifteen minutes straight of all out sprinting began to make my legs burn. Breathing seemed harder. My arms were growing weak. But I didn't care. I kept running. I needed to keep running. I had to run off that sight I saw back at the bridge. I had to forget it. I had to erase it from my mind.

Exhausted, I began to slow down. Dark spots began to fill my vision as I coughed of the lack of air I was giving myself. I was going to faint. Good, I thought. If I would faint, I might forget what I had seen.

But realization struck me through the chest as I fell against the cold Volterra cement. Caius didn't want me. He wanted Jordana. It had never been me. Never. He must have lied to Marcus. Only I created that so-called bond of ours. I loved him. And he didn't love me.

I needed to run again. I needed to stop breathing and die. What was the point of living? No one needed me anyway. And I most certainly didn't want to live. Didn't want to live in a world where Caius was living happily with his prissy-up Jordana…

I forced my heaving body off the cement and started to run again. My lungs were on fire again, screaming at me to stop and give it a rest. I ignored it. I kept running. Maybe I would get lucky and get hit by a car. Or stabbed to death by a gang. Or even mauled by a bear. Maybe-

My body met the ground again once I whammed into something rock-hard. I fell on my back, the small amount of air all rushing out of my lungs. Damn. Damn my clumsiness and everything else. Slowly, I looked towards the thing I had busted into, only to find a pair of pale, bare feet. My eyes growing dizzy, I forced myself to look up.

"So the rumors were true," a familiar voice said casually, my heart welling up with dread. "The Cullens hid their pet in the great city of Volterra."

The silver light of the moon reflected beautifully off of the figure's long, fiery orange hair. Her red eyes glistened with a mixture of hate and satisfaction. Another figure walked up to her side, a boy vampire who looked to be about fifteen when he was turned. His red eyes sparkled with pride as Victoria snaked an arm around his shoulder.

"Good work, Riley," she purred.

Then, both vampires turned back to me with cruel smiles. I swallowed, preparing for the great torture Victoria had in mind for me. Unless the Volturi could pick up Victoria's scent in time, I was doomed for good. Well, I guess that was okay. I did request for death to come, and come it would.

_Goodbye Caius, _was the only thought that scurried into my mind as Victoria lurched forward with bared teeth.

* * *

**Alright, let me just point out and assure you all that Caius did NOT cheat on her. It will all be revealed in the next chapter, which will be up really soon.**

**And another question you guys might have is why Aro couldn't smell Victoria when he was arguing with Bella to stay with them. The answer would be that Victoria just entered the city when Bella ran into her. Hope this helped XD Review ^^**


	25. Chapter 25

**I apologize for the wait, guys; my whole family was hogging the computer. Enjoy the chapter ^^**

**

* * *

**

**Chapter 25**

**

* * *

**

I held up my hands for protection, but it didn't curb Victoria's vicious attack.

Her icy fingers locked around my arm in a bruising grip and she yanked me backwards, into the shadows of the buildings. The other hand squeezed my mouth shut in case I was planning to scream, which I wasn't, and she took off, taking me with her. Riley, the other vampire, followed her speed, giving me a cold glare as the gates of Volterra were beginning to grow farther and farther away. I understood her motivation perfectly. She wanted to torture me first, and have no one hear my screams or something like that.

Eventually, she slowed down, into a middle of an unknown forest with hundreds of tall trees. She threw me to the ground and turned briefly to her partner.

"What's wrong with you?" Victoria demanded at Riley's confused expression.

"I thought the plan was to kill her in front of Cullen," he replied.

"Too risky," Victoria snorted. "You've seen the Cullen's powers yourself. If that Cullen boy sees us kill his mate, he would slaughter us all, and probably end up saving the girl."

"I'm not his mate," I informed.

They both turned to me with wild expressions. "What?"

"You said Edward's my mate," I said casually. "But he's not."

Victoria sneered at me. "So the puny human tries to save herself by lying to her murderer. How unbelievably touching."

"No, no, go ahead and kill me, by all means," I muttered. "I just figured you'd want to know that I don't really love Edward anymore and I have moved onto someone else- well, _had _moved on to someone else. Besides, I'm not a good liar so you could probably tell if I was lying to try and save myself. So yea…"

Victoria's expression was almost funny. You could tell this wasn't the kind of conversation she had with her victims. Well, I figured since these were my last few moments, I'd make the best of it.

She shook off her confusion and then leaned towards me with a cruel grin. "I bet you're wondering how your death is going to play out. Well I'll tell you. First, I'm going to suck the sweet blood out of you ever so slowly. And afterwards, if you're still alive, I'm going to rip you apart, limb by limb and then drain you of blood completely. And for the final touch, I'll take all your body parts and leave them on Cullen's porch."

"Sounds fun," I muttered.

"Oh, it will be," Victoria promised.

She then pounced, gripping both of my shoulders to the ground while she searched my neck for good spot to begin feeding. I closed my eyes all the way this time, trying to remember the good times I had had with Caius and how I would never get to be with him after all. Well, who cared? He had Jordana now. I waited for the agonizing bite to come, but it never came. Slowly, I reopened my eyes and saw she was staring intently at the beautiful locket Caius had given me.

"What a nice piece of jewelry," Victoria purred, her long fingers running over the rubies. "I have not seen something of this beauty in…" She locked her fingers around the clip that brought the locket together.

"Hey, hey, no!" I snapped at her. "If you're going to kill me, fine. But don't take that off. It means a lot to me."

"From your dear Cullen boy," Victoria guessed.

"Nope," I quipped. "From Caius."

"Caius…" Victoria didn't seem to recall the name. "Ah, yes. He must be your new lover."

"Was," I corrected.

"I'm sure Cullen would be so sad to hear you no longer consider him your mate," Victoria sneered. "Perhaps I will leave a note about that on your box of body parts. But no matter, you will die at my hand whether or not you are still involved with those wrenched Cullens. You will not survive the night!"

"I already kind of knew that," I pointed out.

Victoria growled, and instead of piercing her long fangs into my neck, she grabbed my arm where the agonizing bite of James lay. She ran my mark across her nose before pulling back. "I will suck you from your neck later. Now, I will begin the draining session by piercing you exactly where this bite had come from."

"Oh, well that's kind of nice," I acknowledged. "Bite me in the spot where your mate did."

"What mate?" Riley suddenly demanded.

Victoria shot me an icy glare.

"Oh, were you keeping that a secret?" I asked. "Whoops. My bad."

"What mate, Victoria?" Riley pressed.

"Nothing," Victoria snapped.

"You had a mate before me?"

"Of course not," Victoria snarled.

"You sure?"

"It's always been you."

"Really?"

"_Really_."

"Then why-"

Looked like they were distracted well. Still, I didn't have a good chance at escaping. But did I want to escape? I did ask for death. I didn't want to be alive if Caius and Jordana were together. Yes, I would die. And I would be happy with that.

Unless that kiss was a misunderstanding.

No, that couldn't be true. He had enjoyed the kiss. I saw it myself. Although...it _was_ dark…and he could've not wanted to. And he really didn't _like _Jordana. He was protecting me from her at the festival. That kiss _must _have been a misunderstanding. Caius wouldn't cheat on me. I knew him too well. He didn't want Jordana. And if he didn't want Jordana…he didn't want her to be his mate.

Which meant I wanted to live.

Panic scorched through my body. _I seriously wanted to die_? I was such an idiot! I had to run- before the vampires would focus back on me.

But before I could stand up, Victoria yanked my arm to her lips and sunk her deadly fangs into my skin. Pain jerked through my veins as James's bite was reopened and filled with venom. As much as I tried to hold it back, screams escaped my lips. Victoria grinned against my skin and bit down harder, blood running down her chin. That rusty smell filled my nostrils, adding disgust to my list of mental problems at the moment.

Then, Victoria pulled back to watch me withering on the ground in agonizing pain. Her fangs pulled into a smile. She wanted this. She wanted me to suffer as James did. And guess what? It was working.

"You deserve this," she spat. "You deserve this death! James didn't deserve to die, but you do! More than ever!"

"So…you _did _have a mate before me," Riley realized with a slight frown.

"Silence!" Victoria snapped at him. "You're ruining the moment!"

Riley reluctantly leaned back, handling being dumped a lot better than I had. My whole body jerked upwards, twisting and shaking as the pain increased. Oh God…Caius I'm sorry. I should have stayed with the Volturi like you told me. _IDIOT-IDIOT-IDIOT-_

I desperately fumbled my other arm to the locket, yanking it off of my neck. I tossed it into the open air, causing the locket to open and begin playing the lullaby. I didn't see how it gave me hope, but it did. I loved the sound. And I wanted to at least die hearing the sound of it.

Victoria then leaned back towards my arm. "If I let that venom go on any further, it will only transform you into one of us. And that isn't going to happen. You will not get off this easily. Now begins the process of eliminating all the blood from your feeble human body!"

Her fiery orange head lunged back towards my arm where her fangs sank into my skin once again. I screamed loudly this time, the pain of her sucking the life out of me so torturing it was impossible to breath. Black spots were foaming in my vision, the sound of my own screams going distant. I knew for sure that the stars I was seeing now were the last thing I'd see and the sweet lullaby of Caius's gift was the last thing I'd hear.

And suddenly, the eternal pain of my blood decreasing stopped.

Squinting through the pain, I realized Victoria wasn't even next to me anymore. She was groaning heavily, slumped against a nearby tree, which had split in half. She weakly looked up at her attacker who I couldn't entirely make out.

The attacker suddenly lurched forward, towards Victoria's limp form. Several blurs occurred, both near and far away. Sounds of ripping and snarling interrupted the song of the lullaby. Someone was trying to save me.

_Warmth_.

But even I knew they would be too late, whoever it was. The darkness buried the last bit of sight I had left, and it was getting harder and harder to breath.

"-_NEVER-AGAIN!" _a monstrous snarled ripped through the air, followed by a loud crack.

She was dead.

Several voices wandered through my ears, someone with a cold, firm grip holding my wrist. "She is wounded very greatly," a recognized the voice to be Marcus's. "She does not have much time left."

"Save her," the most familiar and comforting voice begged. "_Please_- just save her. _SAVE HER_!"

"There is nothing we can do, Brother," Aro's voice sounded lost. "The vampress put in a lot of venom. And took much of her blood. There is very little to be done. One of us can attempt to suck out the venom in time but I do not think-"

"_Try_," Caius growled menacingly.

"Very well," Aro agreed quickly. "Let Felix do this job. He has the strength and ability to remove venom quickly. He may be able to save her in time-"

"Let me do it," Caius snapped bitterly. "Felix does not have enough control to suck out the venom and stop drinking when the venom is out."

"Brother, you do not know how to-"

"_Move_!"

It sounded like Aro was reluctantly moving away.

Then, another pair of fangs sunk into my wound. Another wave of pain pricked at my skin, but the pain decreased and decreased as the venom was sucked back out. The agonizing sting in my arm disappeared. Still, my body ached from the rest of the pain pumping through my veins.

The fangs suddenly released my arm, dropping it gently back to the ground. A firm, icy hand touched my cheek, sending chills and warmth down my bones.

"We need to seal the wound before she bleeds anymore," Marcus's voice asserted. "Then we should send for a mortal doctor. Lets take her back to the palace."

"Will she…live?" Caius uttered, still holding my cheek.

I couldn't see the answer the Marcus gave, but a relieved breath from my love followed. I still had darkness foaming in my vision, and I felt very ill and light headed from the loss of blood, but I was sure of two things.

Victoria was wrong.

I was going to live.

* * *

**And Caius saves the day haha once again I apologize for the wait and you fans of Caius/ Bella fluff should probably stick around for the next chapter ^^ Review**


	26. Chapter 26

**Chapter 26**

* * *

"Aro, you will _not _do such thing!"

I sighed, sipping at my water bottle, waiting for Aro and Caius's argument would settle down. They were both all the way in the throne room, but I didn't need to sneak out there to hear what they were arguing about. Heck, I wouldn't be surprised if the citizens of Volterra could hear them too.

"Brother, this is a serious matter," Aro reasoned back. "The Cullens should know of the accident we had with Bella, and that we have finished off the newborn army's creator."

"Why must they know?" Caius snapped. "_They _were the ones supposed the take care of that carrot-haired _bitch_ in the first place! They do not deserve to visit her!"

"Well, they _are _Bella's family-"

"I don't care who the hell they think they are!" Caius roared. "They mind as well have tried to kill her themselves for not doing their part in protecting her. They are not welcome here, and that is absolutely final. This discussion is over."

I could feel the surprise widening my eyes. Caius was pissed. So pissed that he even held Aro under his command, which was never something he had done in any matter before.

"I believe the doctor said to continuously drink water."

The voice at the door practically made me jump. I turned to see Caius leaning against the doorframe, his arms crossed with one eyebrow raised. I couldn't help but scowl back. Damn vampire speed.

"I am," I said defensively. "Jesus Christ, you need to take some chill pills."

"The doctor also told me to feed you a bunch of fruits so you really need to start working on that-"

"Yeah, yeah, _I got it_," I rolled my eyes, pulling the fruit bowl closer and popping some grapes in my mouth. "See? I _love _fruits. Happy now?"

The corners of Caius's mouth turned slightly upwards. "I just want you to get better."

"It's been two weeks," I mumbled. "I am better."

Caius sighed heavily. "Just keep eating and drinking water. I'll return in a few minutes."

Once my doorframe was empty, I pushed the bowl of fruit as far away as possible. Right after Caius had sucked out all Victoria's venom, I guess I had passed out, because I woke up in the middle of a blood transfusion. Dr. Richman, was my doctor's name. He and Caius didn't really get along; one reason because every time Dr. Richman would tell a funny joke and make me laugh, Caius got all annoyed. And two because whenever Dr. Richman talked about all the professional sports he played, Caius kept challenging him to a game of Pac-man.

"Er…Pac- man?" Dr. Richman had asked, frowning. "I'm sorry, but I have no idea what or how to play that game."

"I'll bet you don't," Caius had agreed coldly.

And ever since I left the doctor, every _minute _there was a "drink more water" or "eat more fruit" or something like that. It truly was annoying, but in a way it was kind of sweet. He was putting everything he had into making sure I was completely revived. Maybe it was from guilt, because he didn't get to me before Victoria had bitten me. Well, whatever it was, I did and did not like it.

Other than his constant reminders to drink and eat, we didn't really talk. I had no idea what his problem was, but I really didn't know how to act towards him. He had kissed the bitchiest girl in town, and saved me from death on the same day. Was I supposed to be mad he kissed her or forget it and pretend that was some funny memory?

My eyes wandered towards my room window, dark silver clouds burying the sun and thunder coughing within. It was definitely going to rain for the next few hours. Surprising as it was, I kind of missed the rain. Maybe Caius would let me go on a walk, or even take a walk with me…

"Okay, I got some…er, apples, I think they're called," Caius appeared at my doorway, with a bucket of _more _fruit.

"Caius," I smirked. "Those are blue berries."

"Blue berries, apples, same thing," Caius set the bucket next to me, and turned on his heel to leave.

"Hey," I called out.

He half turned.

"You wanna…um…go for a walk or something?" I asked hopefully. Apparently, the hopeful look vanished when I saw Caius's expression torn in disbelief and something along the lines of 'ARE YOU INSANE, WOMAN?'

"Is that a joke?" Caius demanded. "You can't go outside! Especially if it's about to rain and you aren't even _close _to better yet! No, absolutely not!"

"I know you're all freaking out about me getting better and all," I raised my palms. "But one walk won't hurt. It may even make me feel better."

"Well that's a chance I don't want to take with you," Caius shot back, turning his back and closing the door behind him. I scowled at the door for several seconds before flopping on my back and screaming into a pillow. Damn it, Caius! _WHY DO I BLOODY LOVE YOU?_

After momentarily calming down, I screwed on the cap of my water bottle and headed out the door after Caius. I was going to take a walk whether he liked it or not. And if he wanted me back inside, I guess he'd just have to follow me.

I softly closed the door behind me, tiptoeing down the hallways _around _the throne room and towards the elevator. Yeah…I was gonna make it! Take that, Caius!

But like the horrible luck I have, I ran head first into someone with a _really _hard head. As I tumbled to the ground, a case of lipstick and a few mascara bottles toppled on the ground next to me.

"Oh, that's just great," Sulpicia muttered angrily, while reaching down to pick up the remains of her make-up utensils. "_Real _great. Brand new, and then done for. How perfect."

The black haired vampress then looked down at me, scowling. "Oh, it's you. Caius's human. Ugh, what is it with humans thinking they have eyes on the back of their head when they run without looking forward?"

"Uh, we don't," I spoke up for all the other humans in the world. "It's just me. I'm sort of a klutz."

"I've noticed," Sulpicia snapped. "Where are you going, anyway? Caius made this lecture about how if anyone sees you sneaking around to just send you right back to him."

"No- don't do that," I said quickly. "I was just going to go for a short walk. Please, don't tell him."

"Wasn't going to," Sulpicia muttered lazily, packing up her make up in a fancy jeweled purse thing. "Why should I care if you get mauled out there again? It's not like the world is going to end."

Despite the bare coldness in her words, I thanked her and moved on towards the elevator. By the time I opened the Volturi doors, it was already raining like hell. Streaks of water pounded against the cement, powerfully. Taking a gulp of water from my water bottle and screwing the cap back on, I walked out into the storm.

It had to be less than two seconds before I was just completely drenched from head to toe, but I kept walking. It was a nice walk- in a twisted, not understandable kind of way. I had to squint to keep my eyes from raindrops, and ball up my fists so they wouldn't turn blue, but I kept walking like usual. And walking. And walking.

Not even bothering to take cover under the store patios, I recognized the bridge before me. It had been dark and gloomy that night, but I remembered every single detail so well I could probably draw it without making it look like crap. I forced myself to walk across, to the very center where I had seen Caius and Jordana do the unthinkable.

"Are you bloody insane?"

I didn't need to turn around to know who was talking to me, but I did, never the less. He was many yards away from me, at least to where the bridge started.

"Would you _stop _running away?" he called up to me.

I didn't answer.

"Look, if you want to tell me something, than say it already!" Caius shouted with both anger and hurt. "Say it to my face! Just _stop _running away! _Please_!"

"I wasn't running away," I said hoarsely. "I was taking a walk."

"A walk, huh?" he took a step forward. "It's bloody raining, this is no walk in the park! I'm taking you back to the palace-"

"And what if I don't want to go?" I yelled back at him. "What if I like it here in the miserable and icy weather? What if I like the way the thunder growls at me and the way the rain strikes me down?"

"I don't care what you want!" Caius took another step closer.

"You don't have to tell _me_ that!" I screamed back. "You haven't let me do anything I _wanted _the whole freaking time I've been injured! You haven't even had a decent conversation with me!"

"Well maybe I just didn't _want _to have a decent conversation with you, huh?" Caius snarled. "Maybe I wanted to do something more than just talk to you for once!"

"Like what?"I yelped. "Like nothing! All you _ever _want to do is talk and argue! That's all the hell you want to do with me! What am I to you than a stupid, bitchy, no-good-"

"You are freaking _everything _to me, alright?" Caius took another step forward. "All the time, every day, I just want to spend every freaking second with _you_! So don't you go off about me thinking you're just the pathetic human I thought you were!"

"And why should I believe that?" I screamed back, tears rolling down my cheeks with the rain. "You apparently are head over heels for bitchy Jordana! I saw the freaking kiss myself! I-"

"She had my locket, and I had to kiss her to get it back, okay?" Caius growled, less than a yard away from me now. "I sure as hell didn't want to! And I was freaking out insane when Demetri told me you had been kidnapped! Hell, I would've walked up to carrot-head myself and ask for her to rip off my head if it weren't for the heartbeat you still had!"

"Why the bloody hell would you do something like that? You're a freaking vampire _lord _and I'm just-"

"My love," Caius interrupted, and my heart skipped a lethal beat. "You aren't 'just' anything. You're the first person I ever truly cared for. You're the one I love and want for all eternity, forever and so- on."

I was dead speechless. But time went on. The rain continued to fall. My heartbeat still pumped. And both Caius and I stared at one another for the longest time.

Then, his fingertips ever so lightly touched my cheek, his expression turning into a very soft smile. He was dazzling. He meant his words. He meant who he loved and who he wanted. He was not lying.

Suddenly, the darker part of me took hold and jerked away from his grasp, and forced my legs to walk to the edge of the bridge, where I stared down at the stream.

"So you still choose Cullen kid," Caius said behind me, his voice unable to control seething rage. "I guess I shouldn't be surprised."

"What's that supposed to mean?" I whirled on him.

"You've been fanning over him since the moment you walked in those palace doors," Caius answered. "Because he's just _so _perfect, isn't he? He cares for you, doesn't get in fights with you, gives you whatever the hell you want- what's there not to like about him?"

"Just shut up!" I cried, covering my ears with my hands. "Shut up!"

"Why?" he demanded, rising his tone over my ears. "Admit it, mortal! You're BORED! You're BORED with that kid! He's not good for you."

"What, and you are?" I whirled on him. "We argue twenty four seven!"

"Arguing is what we do!" Caius roared. "And you want to know something else? I like arguing with you! Because guess what? That's what makes our relationship _unique_! It's what shows the whole freaking world what real relationships are about! Just because Cullen can give you all the cars and clothes you can dream of, he can't bribe you like that into being his mate! No! You find your happiness without all the treasure! You found it! You found it with _me_!"

"Yes, I have!" I shot back. "I fell in love with you _long _before you even got that haircut! But it doesn't matter! It's not going to work out! The Cullens and my dad-"

"Why are you including them?" Caius raised his eyebrows. "I don't give a freaking damn about what any of them think or want. Stop worrying about what other people want- what do _you _want? Who do you want to stay with? What do you WANT to do?"

"It's never been that simple," I sobbed, more tears coming. "I can't just ignore all my friends and family. They won't _let _me stay here. They won't _care _what I want!"

Caius took another step closer, cupping my cheek with his icy fingers again. "Then we'll work it out. We'll all figure something out. I know we will."

He rested his forehead on mine, the coldness of his touch sending shivers and yet comforting at the same time. Our noses were slightly skimmed, our eyes beginning to close.

Then, our lips touched, finally and forever together. His hand slid from my cheek to the back of my neck, my whole face icy cold. But for some strange reason, I felt warmer than I've ever felt at the same time. I felt happy. I felt free.

I was finally where I wanted to be.

* * *

**Aww haha well there you have it XD They finally kiss ^^ It may be a sucky chapter caz ive been writing it since 1 in the morning XD**

**By the way I have posted the campanion fic to this story and it's called "Stuck with Her." If ya want to check out the first chapter of this story in Caius's POV, I'd be really awesome if ya guys checked it out! Review ^^**


	27. Chapter 27

**Chapter 27**

**

* * *

**

"Are you planning on making your move anytime soon, Brother?"

Caius ignored his smirking fellow Volturi leader, and continued to scowl at the chessboard. Even though I had no idea _how _the game was played, it was obvious by their expressions that Caius was losing. And Caius was not very happy with that fact.

"Fine, you win," Caius muttered, his palms in the air.

"Oh, this is quite exciting!" Aro clapped his long pale hands together. "The first time in three thousand years that I have finally defeated Caius in a game of chess! My, I must cherish the moment! Are you not impressed, Brother Marcus?"

The third Volturi leader, who had seemed to be in a good mood, nodded in Aro's direction. In fact, all the Volturi leaders were in good moods. I wasn't sure if I ever saw them get along so fluently. It must have been Caius's new attitude.

As both Caius and Aro began setting up the pieces into a new game, Marcus suddenly sat in one of the expensive chairs next to me. Despite the comfortable spot I was in, I tensed. I had never been this close to Marcus…

"How do you do?" Marcus suddenly asked me.

Stunned, I glanced back at him. This had to be the first time he ever talked to me. "Er…um, fine. How are you?"

"Quite well, thank you," Marcus answered back.

Unable to think of a decent conversation with the guy, I politely turned my gaze back towards Caius and Aro's game.

"He loves you, you know," Marcus spoke up, motioning to the concentrating Caius.

"Yeah…we kind of told each other a few days ago," I spoke back.

"So I heard," he said. "I am very pleased Caius is happy. He has never been so in his whole life with the Volturi. He never had any interest in women…until you came along, of course."

"Our bond is great," was my stupid reply. Oh my God! Why'd I say that? Of course Marcus knew our bond was great!

"Yes, it is," Marcus agreed. "One of the most powerful I have seen in years."

"Is our bond…well…greater than the one I had with Edward?" I couldn't help but ask.

"Well, your bond with Edward Cullen is difficult to read," Marcus explained, and gave me a slight smile. "Because it has been broken already."

I smiled back, but it quickly faded away. "Edward…what am I going to tell them him when they find out I want to stay here? With Caius?"

"Do not fret, young one," Marcus answered calmly. "It will all settle out in the end."

I've heard _that _before.

But I still couldn't picture what would happen. Edward, he said he would protect and love me until I ordered him away, but would he leave that easily? And Alice…well, she'd be happy for me. She'd be disappointed I wouldn't live with her anymore, but she'd still want to visit me. Jasper and Emmett, they would probably also be a little upset but they wouldn't throw a fit. Rosalie…heck, she'd probably throw herself a party for coming up with that grand idea to send me to the Volturi. And of course Carlisle and Esme would be happy for me…

Still, there was that question of what Edward would do…

Who cared! I was staying with Caius for the rest of my life!

"The face Caius gave us when he discovered that you had been kidnapped will never be forgotten in my eyes," Marcus said, snapping me out of thought. "Such horror and fear, he had. Feelings I do not believe ever happened in his life. He was the one that found you first, you know…"

"I know," I said, trying not to sound all boastful. "I saw him before I couldn't really see anymore."

"Not even the legendary tracker Demetri could have lead us to you in time," Marcus went on. "We knew your attacker had taken you inside the forest, but it took Demetri a while to figure out which exact way you had gone. Your attacker had tried to cover up their trail, you see. But Caius sprung off ahead anyway."

"Why did he do that?" I asked curiously. "If Demetri couldn't track me well, how could Caius?"

"That I will never know," Marcus answered. "He must have seen something, a clue you could call it. A clue that gave away where your attacker was planning to destroy you."

"The locket," I realized, my eyes widening. "He must have heard the locket."

"I beg your pardon?" Marcus slightly frowned.

"I opened the lullaby locket Caius had purchased for me," I explained. "I wanted to hear the lullaby while I was dying. But Caius must have heard it, and recognized the tune."

"Perhaps," Marcus gave me an approving look. "Speaking of which, has he ever told you the story of when he encountered a werewolf?"

"Nope," I felt a smile creeping up. "I've wanted to know for quite a while, though."

"Well, then. It started off when Aro and I-"

"Ahem."

Both of us whirled around to find Caius right behind both of our chairs. One of his eyebrows was raised. "Having a nice conversation, you two?"

"Caius, please," Marcus looked serious but his eyes were amused. "She has a right to know your most embarrassing moment as your new mate, does she not? Of course she would like to be informed when the werewolf had your leg and you were screaming helplessly and pounding quite idiotically on the beast's snout."

I covered my mouth in one of my hands and tried not to laugh at the mental picture in my mind. Marcus, who looked wickedly amused as ever was smirking at the blonde vampire, who if were human would have been blushing madly.

"Thanks a lot," Caius snapped at him.

"Okay, okay, I'm done…" I breathed after a fit of laughing. "No more. Got it."

"Yes, you've definitely got it," Caius scowled at me starting to laugh again. He turned to Marcus. "Why don't you go play a game with Aro? He is annoying the hell out of me over there."

"Oh, but Caius," Marcus countered a bit disappointedly. "Bella and I were having such a good discussion."

"Too bad," Caius smirked. "It's my turn to argue with most irritating and lovely human in the world."

"I'm touched," I smiled.

"Very well," Marcus sighed heavily, and heaved himself off the chair. "I do hope we can continue our discussion another time, Bella. It was quite agreeable."

"Sure," I smiled back as the elderly Volturi Lord walked off to join Aro in a game of chess. After he was gone, I turned back to Caius. "I don't know why I thought him so creepy last year. He's really nice and friendly."

"You thought I was creepy last year too," Caius pointed out.

"Yeah, more than creepy actually, but lets go with that," I then laughed at Caius's scowl and lightly kissed him on the cheek. "Kidding."

"Uh huh, sure," Caius mumbled, but wrapped an arm around my shoulders. "What do you want to do? Go on a walk? Play some Pac-man? Insult that Dr. Richman guy behind his back?"

"You're insane," I rolled my eyes. "Lets draw or something."

"Draw?" Caius repeated. "But…I'm not a drawer."

"So what?"

"_So _I cannot match your so-called _skills _at drawing anything that comes to my mind. The last time I drew was way back when I was still human, and I was using my finger to draw a square in the sand. I will humiliate anything that I attempt to physically create- and you're okay with that?"

"Pretty much."

"Oh, okay. Just checking."

* * *

Crumbled bits of paper were scattered across Aro's entire room, all of them unfortunately missing the trashcan. Each paper possessed an unknown figure that looked the opposite of whatever we claimed it to be. Still, the two of us were laughing hysterically at our own horrible drawings.

"You will personally be cleaning all of that nonsense up, Brother," Aro eyed the bits of scattered papers, in the middle of another chess game.

"Yeah, whatever," Caius called back, still snickering at the picture I drew of a rabbit.

"How about this one?" I held up one of my latest pictures.

Caius studied it for several seconds before shaking his head with a sneer. "I'm guessing it's a bear and a tiger in a big crimson heart."

I groaned. "It's supposed to be us!"

"Fail," Caius muttered.

"Garr!" I yelled at him and threw my new crumpled paper at his head. He easily ducked and continued drawing his own picture, one that he had been working on more than usual. When he looked like he finished, I prepared a good, long insult for it.

"Well, lets see," I smirked.

Caius's grinning face turned dead serious as he examined his own drawing. Suspicion growing on me, he then turned his picture around to show me. My eyes widened.

This picture wasn't a stick figure or a crappy triangle animal or anything. It was the face of a young boy. His hair was obviously light colored by the choice of the darkening in the pencil, his bangs all uneven and tangled. The boy's eyes were large, indicating his young age, and his mouth was twisted in a horrid 'O'. The boy's expression looked frightened.

The fact that Caius seemed to include every little detail in the boy's face was truly unbelievable, the insult I was about to use totally vanished. The drawing almost made me want to hug the boy and tell him everything was fine and there was nothing to fear.

"W-Who…" I asked hesitantly. "Who is that…?"

"His name is Darius," Caius choked, his face unable to mask his sadness. "He was my younger brother."

"Whoa, you had a brother?" My head seemed to be spinning in confusion.

"I've never discussed it with anyone before…" Caius sighed heavily. "But…our mother and father left us when I was about seventeen. Darius was only eight years old, and I adored him. He was such a happy kid for someone who was just abandoned by his own parents. The two of us…we were all we had at the time. And…I couldn't live without my brother…"

He paused to see if I was listening. I nodded for him to go on.

"But then... something attacked our village. It was a beast, no doubt. A child of the moon. A werewolf. That beast slaughtered many, at least half of the villagers. And…one of them got me. I was human at the time, unable to protect myself. It ripped open my stomach, and then tore open my brother right in front of me. My _brother_."

I grasped onto his arm.

"Darius died instantly. There went the only person I had left in my life. I swore if I lived through my wound that I would hunt down every last werewolf and strangle them with my bare hands for my brother. But I couldn't live any further. The pain was too great.

"After the werewolf attack, as I lay dying with my dead brother, a cloaked figure came to ruined village. His hood was on, so I could not see his face. But when he saw me, still alive, he smiled. And he gave me immortality. Aro, was the cloaked figure's name. When he brought me to the Volturi, and saw my true spirit of leadership, he made me one of the Volturi Lords. And I used that power very terribly…I _killed _hundreds of humans. I made them suffer. I wanted them to suffer as I did losing my brother like that. And I hunted down every werewolf in existence like I vowed to.

"After three thousand years of total destruction, a human girl came into my life. I was to protect her for a family of vampires I very much disliked. I hated that girl- I knew I would from the beginning. But then…I was growing interested in her. More and more interested until my obsession began to grow into love. That human girl… she showed me how to love again. She showed me all these different kinds of ways to enjoy life besides torturing and killing innocents. And I loved her for that. I loved everything about her."

I felt warm tears starting to bug at my eyes as I continued holding onto his arm.

"Then a few vampires tried to hurt the girl I loved. Oh- I was so scared. Scared that I would lose her the way I lost my brother…because I couldn't protect her. But she reached back out to me, she helped me find her using the locket. And for that, I am truly grateful that I was able to save her in time without transforming her. So grateful…so relieved…"

Suddenly, Caius put something cold in my palm. I opened my palm to see my locket, still in great use and condition, never to leave my neck again. Slowly, I looked up at him.

"I found it in the forest," Caius murmured. "And I believe it belongs to you."

Sighing warmly, the two of us were caught in a big embrace, both Aro and Marcus turned around to smile at us.

* * *

Caius let Aro and Marcus examine his 'Darius' portrait as we continued our game of insulting each other's sucky drawings. As great life together went on, Demetri stepped into the room after Aro's approval of entering.

"Ah, Demetri," Aro sighed. "Surely you have not returned to resume playing Super Mario Brothers? I am afraid the television is not working correctly at the moment and-"

"No, master," Demetri interrupted, his devilish eyes fixing on me. "I bring a letter to Bella Swan."

"I'm Bella Swan," I said, earning a slight grin from the Volturi guard. He handed me the fancy envelope and abruptly left the room for some reason.

I unraveled the letter out of the envelope, and read the words imprinted. I looked up at all the Volturi Lord's faces.

"Well?" Caius pressed.

"It's the Cullens," I said weakly. "They're coming to take me back."

* * *

**Well, that's a bad cliffie, don't ya think? Haha, so anyway hope you like Caius/ Bella's relationship and hope you like the whole deal with Caius's past and how it makes sense for him in the regular time. XD**

**Chapter 3 of "STUCK WITH HER" –The companion fic to "Stuck in Volterra"- should be out fairly soon so sticky around for that XD Review ^^**


	28. Chapter 28

**Chapter 28**

**

* * *

**

"Well…that's not a problem," Caius uttered, breaking the very long silence that abrupt throughout Aro's room. "She isn't leaving us. There's nothing to worry about, she's staying."

"No…" I choked back a sob as I examined the last words on the letter. "I can't. I can't stay."

"What do you mean you can't stay?" Caius whirled on me, his eyes wide with disbelief.

"I…I have to go back…" I could tell my eyes were fogging up. "I have to back to him…"

"_Him_?" Caius shrieked, looking helplessly back at Aro and Marcus who looked quite shocked as well. "B-But you and the Cullen boy aren't-"

"Not _Edward_!" I snapped, and then turned solemn again. "My father. Charlie."

Before Caius could answer, I held up the letter to his face and pointed at the bottom half. The bottom half that tore open my very soul to lifeless pieces. Caius read it out loud. "_The second we retrieve you from the Volturi, we will drive you to the hospital. I am sorry to say that your father, Charlie, had a heart attack. He is still alive, and you should definitely see him right away. Pack all your things, and be ready. We will be there by tomorrow. Love, Edward_."

Unable to control it any longer, I burst into tears, in front of the three great Volturi Lords. Of course, none of them blamed me. Caius, slowly stepped away from the letter, his eyes wider than usual.

I tried to wipe the tears away, but new rows kept forming. My father had a heart attack. The exact way Harry died. Who was to say the same wouldn't happen to Charlie?

"Well…" Caius breathed, his voice a little choked as well. "That changes things…a lot. You alright?"

I nodded quickly, worried tears annoyingly still coming.

"Dear Bella, please allow me to fetch you a tissue of some sort," Aro stood up, his delightful expression vanishing.

"No, really…I'm-"

"I will get a tissue!"

Then, the black haired Volturi leader disappeared.

Caius had his back to me, but I could tell his eyebrows were knit together, unable what to decide. What would he say? Would he let me go? Would he keep me here and hope the best for my father? Suddenly, he turned around, looking me right in the eye. "Go."

"W-What?" I asked quickly.

"Go," he repeated, his tone harsh. "Go to your father."

"I-"

"You must go to him," he stated. "You must see return your home until he is well."

Slowly, I turned around and started to head towards the door. That was until a cold hand caught my arm and dragged me back a few inches. I looked up at the blonde vampire.

"But then come back," he breathed softly, his eyes filled with so much hurt and sadness, it made me want stab myself if I didn't do as he wished. "Come back to me."

After a moment of silence, I nodded once. "I promise."

Caius released the grip on my arm, and let me take off into the hallway.

* * *

It felt strange packing. Besides all those other emotions I felt about leaving Caius for a couple weeks and Charlie being near- death, I felt uncomfortable. This place was now my comfort zone. It belonged specifically to me. Leaving now seemed like I wasn't ever coming back.

Just as I was finding a special pocket for my gameboy, the door knocked.

"It's open," I said rather miserably.

Aro stepped in, with of course, a tissue. "Hello, lovely Bella. I see that you are in fact leaving us."

"Well, just until I get to-"

"Say no more, dear," Aro held up a hand with a friendly smile. "Caius explained everything. And…apparently your need for a tissue has expired."

I smiled lightly. "Yeah, but thanks for trying to help."

"My pleasure," Aro stepped forward. "Is there anything I can help you with?"

"Nah, I'm good," I looked over my bald room. "I think I got about everything wrapped up."

"Oh! Which reminds me…" Aro reached a hand into his inner robes and then pulled a small box thing. "This is your Pac-man game to the Game- Boy. I am afraid I forgot to give it back, which I deeply apologize for. Thank you for letting me utilize it."

After a moment of blank staring at the game, I shook my head. "You know what? You keep it. My treat."

"Keep it?" Aro repeated in disbelief. "I could never take this from you!"

"Really, it's fine," I assured. "I'll be coming back in a few weeks. Besides…I have a feeling you need it more than I do."

"My, such kindness!" Aro seemed overjoyed. "Thank you, lovely Bella! Your kindness overwhelms me, I promise I will one day make it up to you."

"Er, thanks…" was my answer.

"I was wondering something, though," Aro added. "When were you planning on telling the Cullens of your eternal stay with the Volturi?"

"Oh, shoot…forgot about that…" I bit my lip. "Well, just to be on the safe side, I should probably tell them after I make sure my father will be okay. Then I will tell him and the Cullens. I'm just not sure they will be as willing to take me to Charlie if I told them before we left."

"Reasonable answer," Aro approved, and then glanced back out the door. "Well, thank you once again for letting me hold on to your video game, I will be sure to take proper care of it. And I give you all the best wishes to your father, and that you will return here just as brightly as before. I must be off… good day, Bella."

Then he vanished before I could return a goodbye.

* * *

I knew I would be dreading that next day.

At exactly 7:00 A.M, Felix and Demetri knocked on the door to escort me to the throne door. I was a bit disappointed Caius wasn't the one to come and get me, but he probably had to join Aro and Marcus on the thrones.

"Everything of yours is packed, Bella?" Demetri asked lightly, taking my backpack without the straps like he had Day One.

I nodded. "Yep. That's everything."

"I hear you will be returning to us," Felix added with a dark smile.

Luckily, it didn't bother me anymore. "Sooner or later, yes. You heard that Caius and I are together, right?"

"Apparently, Demetri left out that fact," Felix side-glared at his fellow guard, who sheepishly looked away.

"What?" Demetri asked. "Not my fault you don't keep up with things."

Suddenly, I realized something. "Wait…are the Cullens already here? Is that why Caius wasn't the one who picked me up?"

"The Cullens are in throne room," Felix sighed.

The three of us walked at a regular human speed down the hallways, where the dread was eating me head to toe. I didn't want to face them. They'd be too happy to see me…and all it would do was make me feel guilty I'd have to leave them…

No. Why would I be imitated like that? Caius was right. I had to do what I wanted for once, and stop worrying what everyone else wanted.

Once we entered the throne room, my eyes landed on a bunch of familiar faces all beaming at my presence. After a short gust of wind I realized Alice was hugging me, quite tightly in fact. I hugged her back, unable to deny I missed her most of all.

When she pulled back, she had a dazzling smile on her face. "Bella, I missed you _so _much! It's so good to see you!"

"Yeah, you too," I was then interrupted by another hug. "Alice- _Alice- _I can't breathe!"

She smiled and released me, leading me to the rest of the Cullens. Emmett and Jasper came forward, giving me big ear- to- ear smiles as well. "You don't know how long it's sucked not being able to make fun of you whenever you get hurt," Emmett joked, picking me off the ground and twirling me once before setting me back down. From the corner of my eye, I could see Caius tense when I was basically flying in the air.

"Gee, so much for a polite hug," I muttered, making the bulky vampire laugh.

"You know he's kidding," Alice smiled.

"Hey Jasper," I said to the honey-blonde vampire at his side.

"Hello, Bella," he merely said, unable to say anything more.

"How's life treating you?" I added.

"Okay," he merely said again.

No words left to say to him after he practically shot down all the possible conversations I had, I moved on to Carlisle and Esme, who looked grateful and happy as always.

"Glad to have you back, Bella," Esme then hugged me, while Carlisle nodded in agreement. Rosalie was behind them, not too eager to say a _hello _or anything. That was to be expected, though.

Then, I turned to the last vampire.

His face turned bright and warm when he saw me, even though I doubted I was returning his expression. In a flash, I realized I was in his cold embrace, his lips planted on my forehead. I forced my eyes shut, not finding any warmth in his touch anymore. "Bella…"

"Hi…Edward," I said hesitantly. When he tilted up my head to kiss me, I quickly lowered my head, so that his icy lips touched my forehead yet again. Luckily, he didn't seem to mind.

"Before we make our departure," Carlisle then faced the Volturi leaders. "We'd like to properly thank you for watching over her in our time of need. Is there anything at all we can do to make it up to you?"

"No make-ups, Carlisle," Aro said pleasantly. "We were honored to have her here. But you mustn't thank me, for most of us only did a small part in watching over her. Thank Caius, here. He was her personal protector."

All the Cullen's eyes swept over to the blonde vampire in disbelief. Carlisle stepped forward. "Caius…er, thank you. H-Have you trimmed you hair?"

"Yes, Carlisle," Caius said blandly.

"And…you drink only animal blood…" Carlisle added, unable to mask his wild shock.

"Yes," Caius said again.

"He has had many changes over the past few weeks," Aro went on, glancing at his fellow Volturi leader at the corner of his eye. "Many great changes, in fact. He has protected Miss Swan from several newborns that have entered the city."

"How?" Edward suddenly spoke up, his eyes squarely upon the blonde vampire's. "You despise mortals most of all. And you are telling me you were the one who protected my beloved?"

"If you were listening to Aro, boy, you would've heard that I had many changes over the weeks," Caius shot back. "Try thinking about what you are saying before saying it out loud. And yes, I was the one who protected her. Is there a problem with that?"

Edward seemed mildly shocked at the Volturi Lord's comeback. Secretly, I wanted to give him a high five.

"Whatever," was all Edward said after the silence. "As much as I disagree with the decision, we will have her transformed when-"

"Do so and I will personally disarm you," Caius's eyes then fastened upon mine. "She doesn't deserve to become a monster. She is far greater than so. She deserves humanity."  
I couldn't help but let out a small smile at that speech. Even though he was a distance away, I could tell he too was smiling. Edward then shifted, breaking the silence. "Well…I am glad you see it our way. Or should I say, _finally _see it our way. You were, after all, the one that I didn't trust with Bella's life most of all-"

"Edward," I interrupted through clenched teeth. Every word he was saying to insult my love made me want to rip him to bloody pieces. Remembering that I was going to leave him was very pleasant to the thought. Edward slowly turned around to face me, his eyes slightly widened.

"Yes, love?" he asked warmly.

"Don't insult him," I said with both venom and calmness. "He protected me so many times, I lost count. If it weren't for him I'd be newborn chow. Show him some respect. Please."

Edward stared at me, surprised. Then, he loosened up. "Alright." He then appeared back to my side and slipped an arm around my waist, much to my discomfort.

"Well, we must be heading off," Carlisle spoke. "Since I am Charlie's personal doctor, it would be prudent to assist him as soon as I can. And I am sure Bella would like to see him. Thanks, again."

"Hope to see you soon, Carlisle," Aro said back, while Edward slung my backpack over his shoulder after receiving it from Demetri.

But before Edward could lead me away, towards the door, I wriggled out of his grip, and ran up to Caius's throne. He stood up when he realized my intentions, and then openly spread his arms. The two of us pulled into a tight embrace, and Caius was hugging back like he thought he'd never see me again. "Come back," he murmured in my ear.

Then, we pulled away, and I nodded once at Aro and Marcus before hurrying back to the Cullens, who stared at me in downright shock. Edward returned his grip around my waist and I could barely glance backwards as the Volturi doors shut loudly behind us.

Slowly, I forced myself to face forward.

* * *

**I hope you guys realize that Bella has to go back for Charlie's sake… that's what I would have to do anyway… haha XD Hope you guys like new chapter and I apologize for not updating STUCK WITH HER, yet.**


	29. Chapter 29

**Chapter 29**

**

* * *

**

Dead and lifeless were good words to describe the car ride back to Forks. In fact, the plane ride was pretty bad too. None of them really talked to me, because the way I was acting told them I wasn't in the mood for talking.

Edward sat next to me on the plane ride, of course. He tried talking to me more than the others. But I either only gave him one-syllable answers or didn't answer him at all. And it wasn't really because I was angry with him… I just felt so bald and exposed without Caius with me.

With Caius, I could speak my mind and no matter what he wouldn't get offended. With Edward, it felt like I could only say certain things to him. Not that I wanted to say anything to him at this point…I just wanted to see my dad. And then head back to my home.

Apparently, Emmett had been sitting behind us on the plane ride, because the next thing I knew there were two giant bulky hands on either side of my seat. "Dang, Bells… I can't believe you actually hugged that Volturi thug!"

"It was a bit weird," Jasper agreed, in the seat behind Edward's. "What exactly gave you the courage to give that blonde dimwit a hug goodbye, Bella?"

'Volturi Thug' and 'Blonde Dimwit' were not the words I liked hearing about my one and only love. But then again, it were just Emmett and Jasper. They were stupid boys. I forced myself a smile with no humor. "'Cause we're close now, is that such a crime?"

"How close?" Edward pitched in, looking me right in the eye.

"Close enough to want to defend him," I shot back, breaking our gaze.

"Bella, I apologize if I offended you in any way before," Edward said softly. "I can tell you are angry with me, and I don't want you to feel that way towards me. Please accept my apology." He then showed me a warm smile that always used to make fall for him all over again.

I turned away. "Fine. I'm not angry with you anymore." _But that still doesn't mean I'm staying with you, you big jerk!_

Edward flashed a dazzling smile. "Good."

"How sweet," Emmett cooed, still talking to us from behind. "Why don't you guys have a make-up kiss?"

Edward didn't seem to mind that. I turned to glare at the bulky vampire. "Jeesh, do you ever shut up?"

Emmett winked before sliding back into his own chair. Edward continued staring at me, confused and frustrated, like the day I first saw him. "Bella… something's wrong. You aren't like yourself."

I didn't answer him. I merely stared at him.

"You turned away my kiss at the palace," he pointed out. "But you won't tell me why. I need to know why. I need to be able to read your mind."

"I just…" I huffed. "…really want to see my dad."

Edward sighed and leaned back in his seat in defeat, but I had a feeling he wasn't content with my answer.

* * *

"Mr. Swan is in room 394, right down that hallway," said one of the nearby doctor's in the waiting room. Both Edward and I got up to go find Charlie's room while the others all decided to head to their house instead. A lump formed at my throat when we finally got to the door. I hoped with all my heart he was still alright.

"Maybe I should wait out here," Edward suggested. "I don't think he's too happy with me at the moment."

"Alright. Meet you in waiting room," I sighed, and turned to face the doorway.

I managed to turn the knob, and step inside. I recognized Charlie on the bed, covered in medicine tubes and what not. His eyes were closed…so I couldn't tell if he was merely sleeping or the other possibility. Just thinking about it brought me to tears as I slumped at his bedside, and touched his cheek. "Dad…?" To my utter horror, his face was _cold_.

Then, he stirred awake at my voice, his eyes fluttering open and slightly widening with relief and happiness. He croaked, "Bella…"

"Dad!" I exclaimed with relief, happy tears running down cheeks. "Oh my God…you scared me for a sec…I thought-"

"I scared you, huh?" Even though his voice sounded weak, it still had that same slightly irritated tone to it. "Well, you have no idea how much you scared me-"

"I'm sorry," I blurted out, my head on his chest. "I'm so sorry, dad…I-"

"You promised me you'd never do that again, Bells," Charlie croaked, his fingers lightly grazing through my brunette hair. "You promised you'd never take off like that. It nearly killed me…"

"Dad, I'm so sorry for being such an awful daughter…" I sobbed. "It's just- I'll explain everything later…when your-your better and…_and_-" I collapsed in another heap of tears.

"Bells, I hate to see you cry," Charlie forced my face to look back up. "I'll be out of this place in no time…don't you worry-"

"Y-You said you'd be careful!" Tears were everywhere.

"And I always am, like I said," Charlie answered. "But when things come up so unexpected to my own flesh and blood…that's when I can't always hold up that promise."

"Dad, don't leave me!" I was insane. "Please, stay here! I don't want to be alone! I-"

"Bells, look at me right now and hear what I've-"

"I'm sorry, Miss Swan, is it?" I looked up to see a doctor standing at the doorway. "I'm sorry, but you're going to have to leave. I have to give Chief Swan his medicine now."

"O-Okay," I sniffled, standing up and bedding my dad goodbye as I headed towards the doorway. I stopped when I got to the doctor. "He'll be okay, right? He'll live?"

"Yes, Miss Swan, I assure you he will be fine," The doctor promised. "All his statistics are going swimmingly, even faster than we hoped he would recover. I'd say he only has about two weeks to go in here, just to be sure."

"Okay," I wiped an embarrassed arm across my eyes. "Thank you."

"The pleasure is mine," The doctor smiled, and began working on a computer.

Edward met me right outside, and embraced me when he saw me drying my tears. "It's alright, Bella…you heard him, he'll be perfectly fine…"

"Hey, Cullen!" Charlie suddenly croaked from the bed.

Edward looked up.

"Watch over her until I'm out of here."

Edward then nodded. "I will."

Then, the doctor closed the door behind us, while Edward steered me towards the car.

* * *

**Hey guys, so I apologize that this is such a short chapter and boring one in fact, but it was necessary ^^ I have already written the last chapter of _Stuck in Volterra_, which is in fact the next chapter, so I will post it tomorrow or the day after that. STICKIE AROUND and keep those reviews coming XDD**


	30. Chapter 30

**This chapter really isn't that long- so I apologize for that. I will mention this at the end of this chapter as well as now, that there WILL be a sequel and will be posted very soon.**

**Chapter 30 (LAST CHAPTER)**

**

* * *

**

Edward dropped me off at my house at about ten at night. He said he needed to take care of some business with Alice, and then he would come to my window and check up on me, like he did back in the good old days.

With nothing to really do, I climbed into some pajamas and opened up the window. Wind was blowing softly, making my hair blow with it, leaves shuffled throughout the trees, and a nice half moon towered above the darkness. It was a beautiful night. But _he _wasn't here. And that's what made it so much more agonizing.

Tears slightly fogging up my vision, I let out a throaty exhale. Oh God…I didn't want to be here. I wanted to be back in Volterra…where I knew if I needed any help, _he'd _be only a hallway down from mine…ready to comfort me-

I shook my head to get rid of the memories. Why was I such a crybaby? I was going back there after all. All I had to do was tell my true feeling for Caius to Edward and the rest of the Cullens. And I should tell him tonight, when he dropped by. _Yes_. And then since Charlie was okay, I could probably tell him and leave earlier than I wanted to. I'd be back with Caius faster than…

I sighed. Who was I kidding? I had to make sure Charlie was fully recovered before I'd tell him. He could have another heart attack…and this time he might not be as lucky. And Edward…oh God, there would be something bad he would do. I'd have to wait longer.

Breathing slowly throughout my window, I scanned the nearby trees and bushes. I could almost feel his presence…watching me with sadness… wanting to come out of his hiding place to hug me and tell me he loved me so damn much…

There I went again. Going mad because I wanted Caius with me. Slowly, I reached towards my neck and wrapped my fingers around the locket. Edward and the others hadn't found out about it yet. Not like it made such a big deal anyway…but still.

Unhooking the locket around my neck, I slowly opened it. The lullaby came out.

It was so beautiful, so enchanting, it literally made me think that Caius was still somehow here, with me. Coming to save me from these Cullens. But he wouldn't do that. I would have to save myself this time.

From a distance, I could almost hear Caius's part of the locket play back, binding both of the lullaby's into a beautiful song throughout the beautiful night. He couldn't be here though. No. He would never follow me here.

"Ahem."

The voice made me jump a few feet. I quickly snapped the locket shut and whirled around to face the intruder. A dark figure stood on the other side of my room, with a hood covering it's face. But the marking on the robes- I could see from the moonlight- they were the marks of the Volturi. _It was him!_

"Caius?" I shrieked.

The figure then pulled off its hood.

It wasn't Caius.

Both disappointment and despair washed through my veins as I made out the figure. It was a woman. A woman I remember seeing at the Volturi, when she was holding a homeless man to his death. Chelsea.

"Hello, Bella," The vampress stepped forward, at my side by the window. "I did not mean to startle you."

"…Er, hi," was all I could say. "Um…not to be rude or anything but…what are you doing here? If Edward finds out you're here he'll-"

"Let the Cullen freak out for all I care," Chelsea said nonchalantly, putting her back to me . "Don't worry. I didn't come here to eat you or anything."

"Then…um, what are you doing here?"

"A business trip," she said casually, her beauty stunning in the moonlight. "Figured I'd drop by. Master Caius was pretty upset when you left. Almost thought about following you here. That bond of yours...very strong."

"Yeah, Marcus said the same thing," I pointed out.

"Of course he did. Master Marcus has a great gift," she then half-turned towards me, red eyes twinkling devilishly. "And do you know my special abilities?"

"Well, you…also read abilities?" I guessed.

"Very good," She acknowledged. "I also can affect relationships any way I want. I can make them turn on each other, draw them to the Volturi-" She side glanced at me. "-Erase memories of the other."

"You can erase memories?" My eyes widened. "Wow, that's a cool gift you got there."

"Precisely," she agreed. "I honestly do not use it as much as I'd like to, but Aro insists that power is never needed unless completely necessary."

"Most of the Volturi have great powers like yours," I said, unable to figure out what all of this was leading to. "All except Caius, of course. Sometimes I used to wonder if that was the reason he was always so angry. Because he didn't have a power."

"I am sure that's probably part of it," Chelsea chuckled. She then turned solemn. "Oh…dear Bella Swan, you truly miss him, do you not?"

"I haven't been away 24 hours from him and I'm already going crazy," I admitted. "Would you take me back to him? To Volterra? Before Edward comes back?"

"Ah, Bella, I'm afraid I can't do that," she sighed. "You must tell the Cullens and your father of your permanent stay with us, first. Then, I would be more than honored to escort you back home. Master's orders."

"But…I-I miss him…" I slumped on the windowsill. "I miss him so damn much…it's physically wounding me…"

"Such a wonderful relationship," Chelsea murmured from behind me. "I feel so ashamed that I have to do this."

"Do what?" I suddenly asked, turning towards her. "What do you mean?"

"I'm sorry, Bella," she took a reluctant step towards me, holding out her hand towards the face. "I should have never agreed to this, but I have no choice now…"

"Chelsea?" I shrieked. "Chelsea- what are you doing? _Chelsea_!"

"I know it hurts without Caius now…" Chelsea cornered me, her hand inching closer and closer to my head. "But I promise, Bella. I will make it all better…"

"_What are you doing-"_

Then, Chelsea's full hand touched my forehead, sending my head straight backwards and into the wall. A blinding, white light occurred, making the whole room flash up. Chelsea closed her eyes and murmured something I could not catch- and I found myself unable to speak- to see-

Then, I felt the locket slip out of my grasp, out the window. What was happening? What was she doing to me? Oh God…this felt weird! Pain was beginning to come- throbbing through my brain and down the rest of my body. No- it wasn't just throbbing...it was consuming me! NO! CAIUS- HELP ME! SOMEONE SAVE ME- JUST THIS ONCE- OH GOD- PLEASE-

Somewhere in the distance, I heard the locket hit the cool pavement of the sidewalk.

**THE END**

**

* * *

**

**Okay, for the record, Chelsea didn't kill her. She erased all Bella's memories of her relationship with Caius. ****She was able to use her power against Bella like Alice and Jasper can- to answer that question.**

**And ATTENTION TO ALL: THERE WILL BE A SEQUEL SO THE STORY WILL CONTINUE AND TAKE PLACE ABOUT FIFTEEN YEARS AFTER STUCK IN VOLTERRA! I WILL POST IT LESS THAN A WEEK!**

**Anyways, hope you guys liked story number 1, and hope you will stick around for story number 2! Reviews are awesome ^^**


	31. Chapter 31

**A/N: Hey, it's me Onwind**

**I've been reading every single comment today, and I have to say, a lot of them aren't really inspiring me to make a sequel…**

**Most of you guys are awesome- so thanks to you guys. You're awesome. I understand that most of you are upset with the ending, and that it was too cliché or just downright horrible to the plot. Well, I'm sorry, but this is the way I feel I want to continue with the Stuck in Volterra trilogy. This has been my plan from the very first chapter, and I believe it is a very useful and unique story line. So if anyone feels like trashing it, or putting me down, you're always free to read another FF story.**

**Anyway, I wanted to point out some of the similar questions that involved: How could Chelsea use her mental ability on Bella if Bella has a shield? Well, the answer to that is because Chelsea's power is similar to Alice's and Jasper's (the vampire's who can use their abilities on Bella). Therefore, Chelsea can freely use her memory- erasing power on Bella. Even if she cannot in the real Twilight books, it IS FF after all.**

**If any of you were wondering about "Stuck in Volterra 2"- the title is going to be called "Bound to a Blackened Soul." I'll post the first chapter tomorrow. "Bound to a Blackened Soul" will involve both Bella and Caius's POV.**

**Hope to see you all in the next book and good day to all.**


End file.
